Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
by Emilie Monaghan
Summary: When Thor goes to Asgard to visit his family he returns to Earth with more than just some souvenirs. Now the Avengers are faced with either accepting their new house guest or losing Thor from the team. Thor insists that he is harmless but can any of them trust someone with such a dark past?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Just as a fair warning there is mention of Rape/noncon in this story. These things happened in the past and, while mentioned, will not be shown. However if this is a problem for you I would advise that you stop reading before chapter three. If I end up putting in a flashback or more graphic references I'll give a heads up. And, as always, I own nothing.**

"You Maniacs! You blew it up!" Tony screamed, falling to his knees on the roof of Avengers Tower.

"I swear, Stark, you make one more Planet of the Apes reference and I'm putting you in a cell with him." Natasha said, indicating the prisoner that S.H.I.E.L.D was carting off on the street below.

"Sorry, darling, but when you ask me to do battle against a genetically altered super gorilla, you take what you get." Tony said, flipping up the front of his helmet. "And is it just me or has the quality of villain been going way down lately?"

"You didn't enjoy fighting Steel Boy and Puck, last week?" Hawkeye asked.

"Now why did you have to bring up Steel Boy?" Tony groaned. "That little idiot rips off my idea, and doesn't even have the respect to do it well. Who powers a super suit with oil! The guy's lucky he only ran out of gas instead of blowing up." Hawkeye laughed to himself at Tony's rant. This had been a frequent topic of conversation in the tower for the past few days.

"I don't know if you can call Puck a villain." Bruce added, as he pulled a shirt onto his newly shrunken frame. "He's a nuisance, sure, but he hasn't really done anything especially villainous yet. Although I'll admit that seeing Central Park swarming with ten thousand rabbits was a little creepy."

"I'm still wondering why anyone thought we needed to be involved in that one." Hawkeye said.

"That's my point." Tony said. "What's Dr. Doom been doing all this time? Or any of the villains with a little self-respect?"

"Given that the last two years have included five attempts at world domination, I'll take any break the big guys are willing to give." Bruce said, as the group reentered the tower.

"I'm with Bruce; I could go for a vacation." Hawkeye said, pulling off his mask. "And bananas. For some reason I am really craving bananas right now." Natasha smacked him in the arm.

"You're both idiots." She said, heading for her room.

"Come on, Nat, it was a talking gorilla." Clint called after her. "Anyone want to watch a movie tonight?" He asked, when he saw she wasn't coming back.

"Only if Tony agrees not to break out his, Planet of the Apes, box set." Bruce said.

"Fair enough." Tony said. "Tarzan, it is."

*/*/*/*

That night Tony found Thor in the kitchen, downing a sandwich the size of a thanksgiving turkey.

"Hey, Goldilocks, enjoying a light snack before bed?" Tony asked. Thor looked at his meal with a smile and took another bite instead of answering. "How'd you enjoy the mission today? I bet you don't get many super apes on Asgard."

"I am glad you bring up Asgard." Thor said. "There is something I have wanted to talk with you and Rogers about."

"Spill."

"Today, during our encounter with Mandrill I was not needed. The same has been true for our last several quests." Thor explained.

"Don't worry, Big Guy, we're in a lull right now but you can always count on villains to come back sooner or later." Tony assured.

"I know that they will. I have no worries on that front." Thor said. "But since the team is not in any great need of my skills at the moment, I was thinking that there is no reason that I couldn't be spared for a week or two."

"Hoping to spend a little quality time with Jane?" Tony asked with a smile. For a second he'd thought that Thor was about to quit the team.

"Time with Jane would be wonderful, but I was thinking of a trip home. It has been over six months since I've returned to Asgard."

"Really, six months? I guess this explains why you've been watching all those Viking documentaries."

"Do you think I could be spared?" Thor asked, ignoring Tony's joke.

"Thor, today we fought a monkey. I think I can speak for the entire team when I tell you to take two weeks to visit your parents." Tony assured him.

*/*/*/*/*

Thor knew that the timing for a visit to Asgard was not ideal; his father had just entered the Odinsleep and his mother would be busy ruling in his stead. But in the three years since Thor had joined the Avengers, there had rarely been such a large stretch of time between threats. Thoughts of finding the time to return home had been on his mind long before Barton had spoken of taking a vacation.

His mother, while thrilled to see him, did not have much time to spare. As usually happened when his father was in the Odinsleep, his mother was all but overrun with subjects wishing for an audience. People who would never bring a complaint to the Allfather would more calmly approach the Queen, and some who'd had their requests rejected hoped to elicit a different answer from a gentler ruler.

It wasn't often that the Queen's decisions on the throne differed from the Allfather's but the few times they did gave the people hope and kept his mother's waking hours filled.

While Thor didn't get to spend much time with Frigga the warriors three and Sif were more than happy to fill the gap in his time. He had in fact only been home for two days when Fandral decided that they should all go on a quest.

They'd been spending their evening in the grand hall, drinking and recounting stories of their finest battles. However somewhere on their third case of mead, Fandral decided that he'd had enough of talking about the past. "It's been too long since we've all been on an adventure together. Besides you need to remind the nine realms of who you are." Fandral said.

"Your works on Midgard have been fine enough, but few other races care about the realm." Volstagg agreed. "You should show that you can still stand against a real challenge."

"And where would you have me go?" Thor asked refilling his glass. "What quest do you have that's worthy of the great Thor." Sif fought the desire to roll her eyes at Thor's ever growing bravado. He always had been an entertaining companion to drink with.

"We must go to Svartalfheim. Packs of Varingar have been terrorizing the high city and its surrounding towns for a year. Rumor has it that they're ready to give their entire treasury to anyone who can clear them out." Fandral said.

"Fandral," Sif hissed.

"What? This is exactly the kind of adventure that we all need. If we could-"

"You know that I do not go to Svartalfheim." Thor interrupted.

"Still?" Fandral asked in surprise. "I would have thought that after-" Fandral was interrupted again, this time with a swat from Volstagg that nearly sent him to the floor. "That after so much… _**time**_** you** would have changed your mind."

"It has been a long time. And it's not as though you can change what happened." Volstagg added.

"Even still I would not offer them my aid. Find another quest for us." Thor said getting up from his seat. "Leave this one to others." As Thor left the room Sif got up to follow him.

"Do you still plan to rule someday?" She asked, catching him in the hall.

"Of course." Thor said.

"Then you need to come with us." Sif insisted. "What happened was terrible but it's done. Svartelfheim is in need of aid and they are our allies, even if the relationship has become strained. Show the realms that you can see beyond your own feelings. Show them the kind of King that you're going to be." Sif stood in the hallway and waited to see what Thor would say.

"No. I won't go to Svartalfheim." Thor repeated, walking off. Sif watched him disappear into the darkness until Fandral came to join her.

"Makes you miss the days when he would run into battle without question." Fandral said into a glass of mead.

*/*/*/*

"So should I go?" Thor asked his mother later that night.

"The people of Svartalfheim _are_ our allies. I think… that your father would approve of your quest." Frigga said.

"And you? What do you think?" He asked. Frigga looked her son in the eyes but said nothing. "Auolies should never have been allowed to get away with what he did. We should have declared war on the realm!" Thor continued.

"Asgard has had a truce with Svartalfheim since your grandfather was alive. Breaking it would have had dire consequences." Frigga said, sitting down. "Your father made the decision that he thought was right."

"I swore I would never go back there. Father trusted him, and he deceived us. How can I help a man like that?!" Thor shouted, collapsing into a chair next to his mother.

"What King Auolies did was despicable." Frigga said putting her hand on her son's. "But leaving his people to suffer will not change the past." Frigga paused before she continued. "It also won't bring your brother back to us." She said gently.

"It nearly destroyed him. Perhaps if things had gone differently than Loki would still be here." Thor said.

"You could go mad trying to find the moment that your brother was lost to us. But that too is in the past and can't be altered." Frigga finished quietly.

"I know that it is my duty to go but I…" Thor trailed off.

"Helping the people of Svartalfheim is the right thing to do. Go and make your peace with what happened." She said. Thor kissed his mother's hand and moved to leave.

"Thor." Frigga stopped him. "I know that King Auolies is offering great rewards to his kingdoms saviors but you shouldn't let your friends count on that too strongly. He won't want to part with that much gold, and he always finds ways to get what he wants."

**In the next Chapter you will see Svartalfheim. I began writing this story about a month before Thor 2 came out so my image of the world is very different. Just think of this world as Asgard jr. Also, as you may have guessed, this story is cannon compliant up to Iron Man 3. Thor 2 never happened.**

**Also I live for reviews so... the button is right there.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The battle against the Varingar was glorious, if not one of their more lengthy adventures. A mere three days was all that it took to destroy the packs.

"How many others did you say they'd brought in to slay these beasts?" Fandral asked with a laugh.

"At least a dozen teams have tried and failed." Volstagg replied.

"And we took them in days." Sif finished with pride.

"You need to come home more." Fandral said to Thor. "What could you be doing on Midgard that would half compare to this?"

"Perhaps you should join me there and find out." Thor replied.

"Yet another realm to be tormented by Fandral's lust? And here I thought you liked it there." Sif said with a smile. The conversation was brought short as the group reentered the city and found the King waiting for them at the gates.

"I've never seen anything like it. Countless men have taken on the Varingar, and failed, and you four wipe them out in days. Truly you are the finest warriors I've ever seen. The stories of your bravery clearly have not been embellished. You have my most humble thanks and that of my entire kingdom." The King said, with a bow.

"Your thanks is appreciated, but we're tired and eager to return home. If you would give us the gold you promised then we would gladly be on our way." Thor said. The king looked at Thor annoyed.

"Of course, of course, but there will be plenty of time to take care of such insignificant things in the morning. Tonight I insist that you all join me at the palace where a feast will be held in your honor." The king said. "I could not let you leave before my subjects have the chance to show their gratitude." Before Thor could say anything Sif was speaking.

"We gladly accept your gracious offer. Do you think that in the meantime you could provide us with some chambers where we could rest and refresh before the nights festivities?" She asked sweetly.

"Of course, my dear. I'm only ashamed that I didn't offer already. I'll have my servants make arrangements for you at once. If you'll excuse me." He said, excusing himself with another bow. After he was out of ear shot Sif turned on Thor.

"I know you can't stand him but do try not to actively insult the man. I doubt your father would appreciate you causing a rift with Svartalfheim while he slept." She said.

*/*/*/*/*

Even Thor had to admit that the rooms Auolies had provided them with were more than comfortable. Not only were they richly furnished but there were half a dozen servants to wait on him as he changed out of his armor.

"Is there anything else that we can obtain for you, my lord?" A servant, introduced as Llundy, asked. "Another drink, perhaps?"

"No. I believe I'll just retire with my companions until the feast tonight." Thor said. Llundy nodded and signaled to the other servants to follow him out. Thor stretched out on a bench and noticed that a young boy had stayed behind. "Yes?" Thor asked.

"Sir." The young boy said, his voice cracking. "I was just wondering if you would want to visit the dungeons while you were here?"

"Why would I want to see the dungeons?" Thor asked.

The boy muttered nervously. "I just thought that…"

"Garran!" Llundy yelled coming back into the room. "Stop bothering the prince and return to your work." The boy ran out of the room and the man came forward to apologize. "I am sorry if the boy offended you."

"I'm not offended, merely confused. Why would the boy think that I'd want to see the dungeons?" Thor asked again.

"Oh." He said sounding flustered. "Well our dungeons hold many different types of criminals. Some of our less distinguished guests have gone there for… amusements." He finished. Thor could see how uncomfortable the man was with the subject and dismissed him without any further question. Later on he told his friends of the strange encounter. Volstagg was sure that the boy had just been trying to show off and Fandral nodded his agreement. Sif told him to ignore it. Even still Thor couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something wrong.

*/*/*/*/*

To the kings credit the feast was incredible. The entire city seemed to be in attendance, along with the greatest musicians and enough food that even Volstagg seemed satisfied. The joy and celebration was almost enough to make Thor forget the strangeness in his chambers. Until he saw the boy again. He was carrying a tray of drinks and bore the unmistakable traces of a recent beating. His left eye was practically swollen shut. Thor began to approach him when the servant from his rooms appeared at his side.

"How are you enjoying the festivities, my lord?" Llundy asked.

"What happened to the boy?" Thor asked, ignoring the question.

"A silly squabble between servants. You know how boys of that age are. Always needing to prove themselves stronger than the others." He finished with a smile.

"He didn't seem the type." Thor scanned the crowd for the boy but he seemed to have vanished.

"My lord, if you would follow me, the king has brought forth a cask of his finest mead which he wishes to share with you and your companions." Llundy insisted, pulling Thor across the room.

The party continued late into the night and may have gone on much longer, but when Fandral lost his ability to stand straight Sif announced that it was time for them all to retire. Thor grabbed an arm to support his drunken friend and made his way toward their chambers. Volstagg was cheerfully accompanied by a red-head girl that he'd been dancing with toward the end of the evening. Upon entering their room they all began to split apart and Volstaggs' companion tried to follow Thor.

"My chambers are this way." Volstagg said.

"I've been waiting all night to find a moment alone with you." She said to Thor, completely ignoring the larger man. Volstaggs' jaw dropped at the obvious slight.

"Your attentions are flattering but I am committed to another. But I believe Volstagg would be more than happy to-" Thor tried to say.

"I heard you earlier." She interrupted. "You didn't believe them when they told you how Garran got hurt. Would you like to know what really happened to him?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Alyia." Thor didn't know what to make of the girl, so he decided to remain quiet and allow her to talk. "Llundy had three men beat him after he talked to you."

"All that for a perceived slight on Thor?" Fandral asked from the couch where Thor had laid him.

"There was no slight. Garran was about to reveal one of their secrets."

"So you decided to finish the job for him?" Sif asked, joining the conversation.

"He won't dare try again." She said, rising to Sif's challenge.

"Then you must have a great respect for Thor. To risk so much on his behalf." Sif stated doubtfully.

"I'm not doing this for him. The men who hurt Garran should be punished. The best way that I can see to do that is to reveal what they were so desperate to hide."

"Well what is it? Enough of this nonsense and just tell us." Volstagg said, still annoyed at having been used.

"There is a man they're keeping in the dungeons. Garran told me he is from Asgard."

"A bit of a disappointing secret." Fandral said from the couch. "Asgardians can commit crimes as well as anyone else. What did this one do?"

"I don't know. No one ever talks about him. Garran only knows he's there because his father cleans the empty cells. He often goes to visit him there." She said.

"I have no say in the law of this land." Thor said bitterly. "I don't know what your friend expected me to do."

"He expected you to save him. You're a prince, a hero; you're supposed to help people!"

"If he's been locked up then he probably deserves whatever is being done to-" Fandral began before the girl cut him off.

"This man is different. Garran told me that there's never been this much secrecy surrounding one of their prisoners before. The only people who even seem to know he's there are the high council and the people who come to torture him." She said disgustedly.

"Most people who merit that kind of treatment have done more than enough to deserve it." Volstagg said.

"No one deserves what they've done to him. He's losing his mind in there. Garran talked to him one day and the man tried to convince him that he'd once been a prince."

"He said what?" Thor asked, suddenly much more focused on what she had to say.

"He's going insane."

"No, what he said to Garran."

"He told him that he used to be a prince."

"What is his name?"

"I don't know. Garran never told me." She said.

"Well what did he look like? Did he have black hair?" Thor demanded.

"Thor." Sif said trying to get her friends attention.

"I don't know what he looks like." Alyia insisted. "I've never been down there."

"That's enough. You need to leave." Sif said, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her from the room.

"Wait. I want for you to bring your friend here. I want to know everything he does about this prisoner." Thor commanded.

"I don't know if he'll come." She said.

"Make him come. He wanted to talk to me and now he can. Bring him here at sunup tomorrow." The girl agreed and Sif quickly led her out of the room.

"I know what you're thinking." Sif said, coming back to Thor. "But it's not him."

"You don't know that." Thor said.

"It's impossible."

"Who else could it be but Loki?" Thor asked.

"Anyone. The girl said that the man was insane."

"No one has seen Loki in almost a year. This would explain why."

"Or perhaps he simply decided to stop attacking Midgard." Fandral said. "He could have decided that it was time to give up on trying to rule the realm and decided to live out the rest of his life on Vanaheim."

"Why would Loki have even come here? You weren't the only one to swear never to set foot on Svartalfheim again." Sif reminded him.

"Perhaps in his madness he thought to bring his fight to Auolies." Thor said.

"After all this time, why now?" Fandral asked.

"Loki's rage has led him to do many things that he never would have considered in the past. Perhaps it has led him to seek revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Volstagg asked. Thor turned to his friend in shock and Sif glared at him. "I'm sorry about what happened, I know that it hurt you and your family greatly, but a crime was committed and a punishment doled out. I'll admit that the punishment was overly severe, but it is a kings right to punish criminals as he sees fit. If Loki did come to Svartalfheim, to attack the king, then he deserves to be imprisoned."

"How can you say that?" Thor asked. "How could you believe Auolies did the right thing when you saw what his decision did to my family? It took years for Loki to recover from what that man did."

"We're arguing about nothing." Fandral said, trying to calm his friends. "There's no way that this man is Loki. Now can we forget this nonsense and go back to celebrating our victory?" He asked.

"I'm sorry my friends, but I cannot ignore this if there is even a chance that my brother is suffering." Thor said.

"Well, I won't stop you." Fandral said, getting up from the couch. "However I don't feel like spending my night watching you prepare for a reunion that isn't coming. So if it's all the same to you I'm going to go and find some of those lovely women from the feast." Fandral moved to the door and Volstagg followed close behind.

"I'll join you." Volstagg said. Once the two had left the room Thor went over and sat on the couch and put his head in his hands. Sif sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's still my brother." Thor said, turning to look at Sif. "Whatever else he has done, he is still my brother. If he's in trouble then I have to know."

"He'd never do this for you, you know." Sif said.

"That doesn't matter."

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to help you find out who's in the dungeon."

*/*/*/*/*

Alyia came early the next morning, as promised, pulling a reluctant Garran behind her. Fandral and Volstagg still hadn't returned from wherever they'd gone, so it was just Sif and Thor waiting to greet them.

"Well?" Sif asked. Alyia pushed Garran forward.

"I…I." Garran mumbled.

"Tell me about the man in the dungeons." Thor asked, trying to take Sif's advice and not scare the boy away.

"I've only spoken to him a few times." Garran said, hesitating over every word. "My father works in the dungeons and sometimes I go to see him there. One of his duties is to bring the prisoners their meals."

"Fascinating." Sif said to herself.

"Go on." Thor encouraged.

"A few times he's had me help him and that's when I met the prisoner. I don't think my father was supposed to tell me that he was there." Garran said, nervously. "My father told me that the king has him kept in secret and then he told me about all the things that people come to do to him." He said, grimacing at an unpleasant memory.

"And you've met him?" Thor asked.

"The few times I brought him his meals, he would talk to me through the door. He always wanted to talk to me. My father did open the door to his cell one time so I could take a look, but I only saw him for a moment."

"I don't suppose you know the prisoners name, do you?" Sif asked. "That would speed things along nicely."

"I never asked." Garran admitted.

"What did he look like?" Thor asked.

"He was tall and pale." Garran offered. "And I remember that he had green eyes."

"Was his hair black?" Thor asked, hopefully. Garran smiled at finally having a question he could answer.

"Black as night." Garran said. Thor jumped on his answer.

"I need to meet him. Show me the way to the dungeons at once." Thor commanded.

"I'm already in trouble for talking to you. If anyone even finds out I came here then I don't know what they'll do." Garran said.

"You've already gone this far." Thor said.

"We'll make sure that no one finds out that we learned this from you." Sif assured him.

"You're sure?" Alyia asked, putting a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder.

"We swear, now take us to the dungeon." Thor said.

They ran after Garran as he led them through the palace and down to the dungeon.

"It's through there." Garran said, pointing toward a door guarded by two men. "If you can get past them, then go through the main hall and take the second left. The tunnel will seem empty, but there's one cell at the far end and that's where he'll be."

"Two guards?" Thor asked, moving a hand to his hammer. "I think I can handle that." He said with a smile. Sif grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Perhaps a more subtle approach." She said.

"If you don't need me anymore…" Garran said.

"Yes, yes, go." Thor said, barely registering the boy now that they were at the dungeon. Garran didn't give Thor a chance to change his mind and ran.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sif asked when Garran was gone.

"You heard what he said." Thor insisted.

"A tall man with black hair and green eyes, Thor, that could describe a hundred men."

"It also describes Loki." Thor said. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"I'll lure the guards away." Sif said, with a sigh. "Try to keep the _reunion_ short." She said, walking off. Thor couldn't hear what Sif said to the guards, but it seemed to do the trick, and they were soon following her away from the door. He waited to be sure they were gone and hurried into the dungeon. He followed Garran's directions down the long hallways and soon found himself standing in front of the cell. For a moment he wished he'd asked Garran to get him the keys, but then saw the door wasn't locked. Instead runes were carved around the door. This was the strongest proof yet! No normal cell could hold his brother; they'd need one sealed with magic. Thor threw the door open and saw a man sitting in the center of the cell with his back to the door. Thor took a step into the cell and the man rose and turned around.

**So does anyone have a guess for who is in the cell? Post them along with a review in the comments section. The first person to guess correctly will win a lock of Fandral's hair.**


	3. Chapter 3

It was Loki. Thor was left speechless as the man across the room stood up. He was about to run and embrace his brother when he took a second look. This wasn't Loki. The resemblance was strong, he had the same eyes and hair as Loki but a resemblance was all it was. He felt all hope drain from his body. His friends had been right; he'd only been chasing shadows.

"My lord?" Thor was startled out of his dismay at the voice of the man. For a moment he'd forgotten that he was in the room with him.

"A mistake was made. I believed that you were someone else." Thor said. He watched as the man visibly flinched at his words.

"I'm sorry if you've been disappointed." He whispered. Now that Thor knew that he wasn't looking at his brother he took a moment to really look at the man. Although _man_ didn't really seem to fit, he looked like he was hardly out of adolescence. What could one this young have done to deserve imprisonment?

"Do you know who I am?" The man's response to Thor's question was immediate. His eyes widened in fear as he quickly began speaking.

"Have you been here before?" He asked, seemingly unsure whether or not he should look at Thor or the floor in front of him. "I thought I knew you. I apologize if I've forgotten your preferences but, if you'll just tell me what you want then I'll do my best to satisfy you."

Thor frowned in disgust at the realization of what the man expected of him. It became very clear that Llundy hadn't been lying about the dungeons 'amusements'. He looked again at the man's look of resignation to his miserable fate. It wasn't Loki but he was of Asgard; it was Thor's duty to at least make sure that the prisoner deserved to be here.

"I'm not here to harm you. I'm a visitor from Asgard and I came to see how you were being treated. There is a boy who told me that your punishment was undeserved." Thor explained.

"Garran." The man whispered. "He talks to me sometimes. He's a nice boy… but I'm afraid that he's wrong about me. My treatment is exactly what I deserve."

"Your crimes must have been great."

"They were unforgivable."

"What is your name?" Thor asked.

"Fenrir." Nothing could have shocked Thor more than that one name. It couldn't be. First the resemblance and now the name; it had to be a coincidence.

"Your full title." Thor requested.

"Fenrir Lokison, of the House of Odin."

"That's a lie." Thor hissed.

"My Lord?" He asked.

"Loki's son died in childhood."

"I don't. I..."

"You think to manipulate me with such transparent falsehoods? Does it amuse you to play such games with one who **would** have helped you?"

"I'm not lying. You asked me my name." He said beginning to look truly scared.

"You expect me to believe that you are Loki's son?" Thor demanded.

"I am." He whispered.

"Before he died preparations were being made to celebrate Fenrir's name day. Loki promised to give his son a gift that would have been the envy of all Asgard. If you're truly he, then you'll have no trouble telling me what that gift would have been." Thor said.

"It was a secret. He never told anyone." He answered.

"That's what I thought." Thor said, turning to leave. He was tired of this creature.

"It was a horse!" He yelled, just as Thor was about to leave. "He was going to give me an eight legged horse that would be even faster than the one he gave my grandfather." Thor couldn't move. For a moment he was caught up in the memory from years ago, when his brother, mired in grief, had told him of all the wonderful things he'd had planned for his son's name day. Most important to him had been a gift that he'd promised; the gift of an enchanted horse.

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing. It wasn't possible that the person with him could be his nephew! Fenrir was long dead.

"Have you just been here all this time?" Thor asked.

"I don't understand."

"When you were taken from Asgard, you're saying that they have just been keeping you here all this time? That you have been alive all these years?" Thor asked, still trying to wrap his head around the possibility.

"Yes."

"This can't be."

"I was brought here as a deal with the All-Father, to pay for my crimes." He explained.

"The deal was for you to be punished and returned to Asgard. A deal which Auolies broke when he had you executed!" Thor shouted.

"What?"

"You really don't know me do you?" Thor said, almost wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "I am Thor and, if what you say is true than I am your uncle."

"Thor?" Fenrir asked in shock. Thor was about to ask more questions to prove whether or not he was really talking to his nephew when the boy interrupted him. "Is my father here?" He asked hopefully.

"No. I'm sorry, he's not." Fenrir's eyes dropped back down at the answer.

"Is he well?" Fenrir stammered.

"He is very different from how you'd remember him." Thor said, wondering how to answer the question. "However last I saw of him he seemed to be in… good health."

"I'm glad." Fenrir said with a small smile. It was the smile that did it. The smile that Thor had seen a million times on his brothers face. This was all wrong and Thor was determined to go and find answers for what had been happening to his nephew. He strode back toward the door to the cell. "Wait!" Fenrir yelped. "Can't you stay a little longer? Tell me more about my father and Asgard."

"I must go and speak to the king. I must fix the wrongs that have been done here."

"Will you come and see me again before you leave, please."

"Fenris, I go to the king to talk about you. When I leave this kingdom I will be taking you with me." Thor stated. He couldn't believe that Fenrir hadn't known what he'd meant.

"I can't leave." Fenrir said incredulously. "I have to pay for what I did."

"From what I see you've paid for your sins ten times over. I will be back before the day is out." Thor promised as he left.

"I need to go see the king." Thor told Sif as he left the prison. "And I need you to go and find Fandral and Volstagg. We're leaving as soon as I'm done."

*/*/*/*/*

"Thor, what happened? Was it Loki?" Sif asked. She'd never actually expected him to be there.

"No, it wasn't Loki." Thor said. "It was Fenrir."

"Thor, Fenrir is dead." Sif said.

"No, we were lied to. Auolies has been keeping him here in the dungeons. Now I must go and arrange for his release."

"Thor, this is madness. Whoever that prisoner is he is not your nephew."

"He is. I'm sure." Sif rushed in front of Thor and stopped him.

"He's insane, even that girl said he was. He'll say anything to get out of the dungeon." Sif said.

"Find our friends." Thor ordered, stepping around her. "We leave as soon as he is released."

*/*/*/*/*

Auolies hadn't been expecting to see the prince so early in the day. Truth be told he'd been hoping that the feast the night before would have left the man exhausted and drunk. A man reeling from a nights festivity is always easier to deal with then one completely sober. Unfortunately there was the visiting royal approaching him.

"Good morning. How are you enjoying your stay?" He asked with a smile.

"Not well. I've had a rather distressing morning." Thor said.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it will not taint the rest of your time here. We were of course hoping that you would stay with us for another week at the least. There are many in the surrounding cities who would wish to show their gratitude for your bravery."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I've decided to leave today."

"Well that is a shame. If there is anything that I or my servants can do for you before you leave than you have only to ask." As Auolies finished talking Thor smiled.

"In that case I would ask that you release my nephew from your dungeons." Thor asked, politely.

"What?!" The king demanded.

"I would have simply taken him myself, but there seem to be runes surrounding his cell. I assume that you'll need a sorcerer to remove those before he can leave."

"Prince Thor, you must be mistaken. Your nephew—"

"I think that you've already lied to my family enough. My nephew sits in your dungeon and you will let him out."

"I'm not accustomed to receiving orders in my own court."

"Then think of him as a gift. A show of goodwill to mend the damaged relations between our two realms."

"The boy is my prisoner." Auolies said, no longer faking cheer. "He was presented to me to do with as I chose, after the damage that he caused to my people."

"A trust that you abused by telling us that you'd had him executed."

"His punishment wasn't complete. It was agreed that if the truth of his presence here were made known then eventually someone would try and free him."

"Then my request should come as no surprise." Thor said.

"Nor should my answer. The boy is my prisoner and that is how he'll stay."

"You will not release him?" Thor asked.

"No." Auolies stated, bluntly.

"Then I suppose there is no reason for me to linger."

"I suppose not."

"Just give me my reward and I'll gather my companions and go."

"Reward?"

"For our defeat of the Varingar." Thor explained. "You can't have forgotten so soon; you threw us a feast just last night." Auolies sat in stunned silence. The eldest Odinson was supposed to be a fool. He'd hoped to distract him away from the reward completely with revelries and celebrations. "We were promised the entirety of your treasure rooms. I think that we'll take a portion now and send servants to retrieve the rest later."

"You can't possibly expect us to give you all of our treasure?"

"It was what you promised. A promise sent to all the realms in a desperate plea for aid."

"Prince Thor." Auolies pulled a supplicating face. "Please understand that the Varingar have laid waste to much of our countryside. Entire cities were emptied for fear of approaching hoards. It will require great wealth to rebuild what has been lost. I would think that a future king would show some compassion for a fellow ruler wanting to care for his kingdom."

"You seemed to have enough to spare for a celebration last night, and several more if your offers of the outer cities thanks were true."

"A wise ruler would think the thanks reward enough."

"I've rarely been accused of being wise. Quite the opposite in fact." Thor said with a wry smile.

"It can't be spared."

"You would deny me my reward?"

"I'd be willing to suffer the dishonor for the good of my people."

"Know that if I leave here without the gold I was promised then I will make sure to tell all I meet of how the King of Svartalfheim went back on his word."

"You will be seen by all as a petty child, and I will be a king who would do anything for what is best for his people." He said with a sneer. "I believe that I will keep my gold."

"People will look down on me but, in time, they will forgive. However one day you will need help again and in the back of everyone's mind will be the story of how you sent your saviors away empty handed. Let's hope that the Varingar are a long time in reassembling."

"You vile piece of—"

"Of course you could always just let me take my nephew home with me. I would consider that to be a more than adequate reward."

*/*/*/*/*

Fenrir sat against the side of his cell and stared at the stone wall in front of him. There was a crack in the third stone from the bottom that reminded him of a snake. Sometimes he would stare at it and try to convince himself that it was real. It was a difficult game, it required absolute stillness and concentration, but when he got it right he could see the serpent slide right off of the wall. He stared at the wall and tried to clear his mind of nothing but scales but it was no use. The events of the morning were too fresh in his mind for him to concentrate.

Sudden sounds outside the door brought his focus back to reality. Someone was coming and he had to be ready. He jumped to his feet and moved to the center of the room. He remembered to stand up straight and dropped his eyes to the floor just as the door opened.

"Fenris." A voice boomed from the doorway. His eyes jolted up to see that his uncle had returned. "I was successful."

"You came back." He said.

"I told you I would. Now come, gather your things and we'll leave." He said with a smile.

"I don't have any things. What do you mean leave?"

"I told you before that I was taking you away from here. Thor said throwing a large arm around his shoulder. Fenrir tried to hide his flinch at his uncle's touch.

"I thought that was a joke." Fenrir explained.

"It was no joke, Fenris. I'm taking you home."

Home. Was it possible that he was really going home? It had been years since he'd even let himself think the word. Now after all this time it was finally happening! He was going back to Asgard and he would get to see his father again. After all this time, finally, he must have been forgiven.

In the next Chapter you will see Svartalfheim. I began writing this story about a month before Thor 2 came out so my image of the world is very different. Just think of this world as Asgard jr. Also, as you may have guessed, this story is cannon compliant up to Iron Man 3. Thor 2 never happened.

You may have noticed Rape/Non-Con and Underage in the warnings category. These things will have happened in the past and, while mentioned, will not be shown. However if this is a problem for you I would advise you to stop reading before chapter three. If I end up putting in a flashback or more graphic references to the past I will give warning.

**Authors note: Really, only one taker on the lock of Fandral's hair? His vanity may never recover. Well Amal8, looks like you win by defalt. Please note that this hair may take six to eight weeks to arrive and may be completly imaginary. Please review people. Please. **


	4. Chapter 4

When they came through the Bifrost Fenrir was gripping Thor's arm. The grip only tightened when he saw the gate keeper looking down at him.

"Heimdal" Thor said. "This is a glorious day for Asgard. My nephew has returned to us, alive and well." Thor pulled his arm free of Fenrir's grip and wrapped it around his nephew proudly.

"So I see." Heimdal said with a glance. "Sif is telling your mother about your discovery as we speak."

"She already came through?" Thor asked. "This is wonderful." Thor looked down at his nephew. "Come. Frigga will be thrilled when she sees you." With that Thor strode off, half leading, half dragging his nephew along beside him. They had barely entered the palace when Sif and Frigga came hurrying toward them. "Mother I—"

"Fenris." Frigga interrupted quietly. She stopped in front of Fenrir. Putting one hand on either side of his face she slowly moved his head up to face her. "You've changed so much." She said sadly. "You look so much like your father."

Fenrir, whose eyes had sought the ground the moment he'd heard someone coming, finally found the courage to look up.

"Do I really?" He asked.

"You have his eyes." She said, pushing a stray hair from his face. "It's so good to see you again." She moved to give him a hug and felt him tense up under her touch.

"Does my father know I'm back yet?" Fenrir asked, as Frigga pulled away.

"I'm afraid that we don't know where he is." Frigga explained.

"Is he on a quest?" Fenrir asked, confused.

"Fenris, I must speak with my mother. Would you go with Sif to the training grounds and wait for me?" Thor asked. Fenrir paled at the suggestion.

"Could I just go someplace to rest?" He asked.

"Of course, you must be tired." Frigga said. "Sif, will you take Fenris to Thor's chambers until we can have something else prepared for him?" Sif glanced at Fenrir briefly then bowed to her queen and moved to lead him from the room. Fenrir hesitated, and turned to look at Thor.

"I'll come to get you as soon as I'm done." Thor said. Fenrir seemed reassured and followed Sif. Once the two were out of the room Thor went to his mother.

"I know what you wish to ask me, though you fear to say it aloud." Frigga said.

"Am I wrong? Is this man an imposter?" Thor asked.

"He is who he claims to be. I felt him as soon as you brought him through the gate." She said, smiling sadly to herself.

"I wanted to believe him. I **did** believe him but, I admit, I still had doubts."

"It's a painful thing to accept when you have failed someone so greatly." Thor looked at his mother confused. "Your father and I should have seen through Auolies treachery. The man was always deceitful. We believed his lies and Fenrir was forced to suffer as a consequence."

"You didn't put him in that cell." Thor said.

"We didn't take him out of it either. You've done a wonderful thing bringing him home to us." Frigga began to walk across the room and Thor followed. "I know that you were planning to rejoin your friends on Midgard but, given the circumstances, I hope you'll stay on a little longer." Thor nodded his assent. "I'm glad. He already seems to trust you."

"Why wouldn't he trust me? I'm family." Thor asked with a laugh.

"He's been gone a long time, Thor, and I can only imagine what was done to him in those dungeons. Even you have to have seen the fear on his face whenever someone comes too close."

"Yes, but that will go away soon enough. Now that he's back with his family, and safe, he'll be fine."

"I wish it would be as easy as that."

"Why shouldn't it be?" Thor asked. Frigga looked at Thor with frustration. She loved her son but sometimes his naivety bordered on the infuriating.

"Leaving out the part where he's most likely been tortured throughout his entire childhood? Have you thought yet about how you'll tell him about Loki?" Frigga asked, pointedly. "Fenris always worshiped his father. It won't be easy for him to hear about the things that Loki has done."

"Perhaps we need not tell him at all. We could say that Loki is on a quest and then-"

"How long do you think you could keep a story like that going? He's his father's son, so I can't believe he would be fooled for long" Frigga said. "Thor, I know you mean well, but lying to him will only cause more pain. It won't be easy, but it's best that he knows the truth."

"Even this will be but a brief pain for him." Thor said, regaining his optimism. "Once word gets to Loki that Fenris is alive then he will want to come home to be with him. His joy will wipe away his rage and everything will be just like it was."

Frigga seemed prepared to challenge her son, but stopped herself. "The most reliable thing about Loki is his unpredictability. There's no way to know how he will react to this news. But we do need to find a way to tell him."

"No one has seen him in almost a year. When I return to Midgard I will increase the search. If I can find him I'll make sure he talks to me whether he wants to or not."

"I suppose that's the best we can do for now. In the meantime I think the more time that you spend with Fenris the better." Thor nodded to his mother and left the room. Frigga wanted to call out after him. To tell him how much fear she'd felt when she'd hugged her grandson. To warn him of her own fears that the man they were getting back from Svartalfheim might not be the same as the boy that they lost all those years ago. She wanted to but she didn't; Thor had always loved his nephew and would naturally do his best to make him feel welcome. For now she had to hope that that would be enough.

*/*/*/*/*/*

Thor entered into his rooms and saw Fenrir sitting, stiffly, at the edge of a chair.

"I thought I'd find you resting." Thor said.

Eyes pinned firmly on the ground; Fenrir said "I didn't know if I should."

"We have several hours till the evening meal. You could sleep until then if you wish." Thor said, gesturing across the room to his bed.

"Isn't that your bed?" Thor nodded yes. "I'd rather not. I'm fine here." He stammered.

Thor thought this was a strange response but decided to ignore it for the time being. "What would you like to do then?" Fenrir seemed poised to speak several times but always stopped himself before any words came out. "Come; don't be shy, anything at all."

"I was wondering." Fenrir stopped midsentence. "Do you think…Are any of my things still here?"

"I don't know. Come with me." Thor said, making his way back to the door. "If they are here then they'd be in Loki's rooms."

"No, wait." Fenrir said, jumping up from his chair. "You don't need to-I shouldn't be going into my father's room without-" Thor cut him off as he grabbed him by the arm.

"No worries. After all we're just looking for some of your old things. Loki would never deny you such a simple request." Fenrir still hesitated and, once again, Thor had to half drag his nephew down the halls of the palace. Even when they arrived at Loki's chambers Thor had to push him inside. "What are we looking for?"

"I don't know… maybe some of my old books." Fenrir said quietly. Thor smiled at the mention of books, yet more proof that it was indeed Loki's son he was dealing with, and began rummaging through the room. Fenrir didn't like that they were going through his father's things without his permission, but Thor did say that it was alright. He forced himself to look around the room.

There were so many things here that he remembered. Tools his father used in his magic, tapestries that had been hung before he was born, and the daggers. There, spread out on the table in front of him, were several of his father's throwing daggers. He'd just begun teaching Fenrir how to use them when he'd been taken away. Fenrir reached forward; wanting so much to hold something of his father's.

"Fenris!" Thor shouted. Fenrir yanked his hand back in terror. Of course he wouldn't be allowed to touch a weapon. He spun around to accept his uncle's punishment and saw him sitting across the room in front of a large trunk. "Come see what I've found." Fenrir sighed in relief. His uncle hadn't seen him. He walked over to the trunk. Inside he saw his toys, clothes, books, almost everything that he'd once owned. He reached in and pulled out a small, blue cloak that he'd worn when he'd been barely 100. "I'd forgotten he'd enchanted your things." Thor said.

"What?"

"After you died, um, were taken, Loki enchanted many of your things so that they wouldn't age. He wanted to preserve what he could."

Fenrir took another look at the cloak and saw that, indeed, it hadn't faded at all over the years. Everything in the trunk looked like it had just been put there by a little boy who might be coming anytime to retrieve them. He put the cloak back and gathered up his courage. There was something that he needed to know and he couldn't stand waiting any longer.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Thor said with a smile.

"Is my father dead?"

"No! No, your father is alive."

"Then where is he? Heimdall can find anyone in the universe if he looks, so how can Frigga not know where he is?" Fenrir asked.

"Loki learned years ago how to shield himself with magic. No one sees him unless he wants them to." Thor explained.

"Why wouldn't he want you to know where he is?" Fenrir asked. Thor quickly tried to think up an excuse, but Fenrir didn't give him a chance.

"I tried to ask your friend, Sif, about him and she said she thought you should be the one to tell me. If he were just on a quest there'd be nothing to tell. I know something's happened to him. Tell me, please." Fenrir begged.

"Loki is alive." Thor said. "But I'm afraid that he has greatly changed since you last saw him." This was the last thing in the world that Thor wanted to do. He could see the pain on his nephews face as he heard about his father. He wanted to lie, or at least delay the truth for a few days, but Frigga was right. It was secrets that had first put a wedge between them and Loki and he couldn't let the same thing happen again. So Thor sat his nephew down and began to explain about how his father had become a villain.

**Authors note: Just a short chapter this time. Review my story and I will add longer chapters next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

"I don't understand," Fenrir said, once Thor had finished his story. "If you and my father are enemies, then why did you release me?"

"You're my nephew. Whatever happens between your father and I that will never change," Thor explained as he reached out to comfort his nephew.

"But it did change," Fenrir said, swatting Thor's hand away. "You said yourself that you and my father aren't really brothers. We're not even Aesir." He added to himself.

"That doesn't matter." Thor said.

"But it does. Don't you understand; this explains everything. What I did on Svartalfheim, all the people I hurt, it was because of what I am. If it hadn't happened there then it would have happened here." Fenrir said, standing up and backing away from Thor. "It's inevitable. I'm a monster and monsters kill people."

"Fenris," Thor said, reaching out to his nephew again.

"No!" Fenrir yelled, wrapping his arms around himself. "What if I hurt more people? I'm going to go crazy just like my father."

"You're not crazy," Thor insisted.

"And neither is your father," Thor and Fenrir turned to see Frigga standing in the doorway. "Fenris, please sit down." Frigga said, stepping into the room.

"No, stay away from me," Fenrir insisted, throwing his arms out in front of him.

"Fenrir, come sit down," Frigga said.

"I don't want to hurt you." Fenrir whispered.

"Then don't." She said, indicating where she wanted him to sit. For a moment it appeared to Thor and Frigga that Fenrir was going to stay exactly where he was. Then, slowly, he made his way across the room. Thor moved to comfort his nephew when Frigga stopped him.

"Thor," she said, "I'd like to have some time alone with my grandson. Would you leave until dinner?" Before Thor could answer Fenrir began to panic again.

"What, no! Thor, don't leave her alone with me," Fenrir begged.

"Perhaps I should stay," Thor offered.

"No, there are some things that I need to say to Fenrir," She said. "I'm not afraid to be alone with my grandson," She added, when Fenrir began to protest again and confusion quickly replaced the fear in Fenrir's eyes.

"It's alright Thor, you can go," She said, as she walked Thor out into the hallway. Then, before he could say anything else, she closed the door and shut him out.

*/*/*/*/*

It was hours until Frigga and Fenrir had finally emerged from Loki's room. Thor jumped to his feet as soon as he heard the door open. Thor had hoped that after their talk Frigga would have reassured him, but when they came out Fenrir still looked as nervous as he'd been when Thor had left. At least he was no longer shaking, and he was letting Frigga lead him out by the hand. That at least was something.

"Thor," Frigga said, acting as though she hadn't known that he would be waiting outside the door for them to come out. "I'm glad you're back. Fenrir and I just had a wonderful talk. I think we understand each other much better now

"I think that it would be a good idea for you to take Fenris around the palace tomorrow. Much has changed since he's been gone but I think that it's time he was reminded of the prince he is." Frigga said, reaching up to smooth Fenrir's hair and, for the first time since he'd been back, he didn't pull away from her touch.

"We could begin now." Thor offered.

"Tomorrow will do fine. Its past time we all went to dinner," Frigga said.

"I'll take you to see the library first thing in the morning." Thor promised. "You always loved to go there when you were small."

*/*/*/*/*/*

"I think he remembers me," Fenrir said, as Sleipnir nuzzled him over the gate of his stall.

"It's hard to forget a boy who never came to the stables without giving him a treat," Thor said.

"I couldn't deny my brother," Fenrir said with a smirk. "Do the people of Midgard still think that my father gave birth to him?"

"I haven't heard anyone mention it, but the story was still strong a few hundred years ago," Thor admitted. Fenrir smiled at the horse and stroked his nose.

"There are worse brothers I could have," Fenrir said. Thor looked over at his nephew indulgently, and fought against his desire to embrace. This was the first time that Fenris had openly smiled since his return to Asgard, and Thor didn't want to upset the moment.

As much as Thor had wanted to disregard his mother's fears, after spending a week with his nephew he couldn't ignore how much he had been damaged by his time away. Fenrir acted like he thought that everyone who came near him was a snake about to strike and, with the exception of Thor and Frigga, seemed determined not to so much as speak to anyone unless pushed. Even Thor, who he seemed to trust the most, was not completely above suspicion. Fenrir still tensed up whenever Thor moved to hug him and more than once Thor had caught Fenrir watching him nervously, as though he were waiting for the moment Thor would turn on him.

This alone would have been enough to make Thor hate Auolies, but each day lead to new discoveries that left Thor itching to raise an army. Still, since he knew that such a response was out of his power, he had to settle for welcoming Fenrir home. In truth, Thor couldn't have been happier to reintroduce his nephew to Asgard. Unfortunately the feeling didn't appear to be mutual. While he allowed Thor to drag him all over the palace, Fenrir showed little to no enthusiasm for the venture.

Thor's efforts didn't seem to be doing much to change his mind on the subject. The library, where he'd loved to spend hours as a child, seemed to have lost its allure without a father to follow behind and question. Fenrir's lack of interest in the training yard had been almost heartbreaking for Thor. And the tour of the weapons rooms: that had been an utter disaster. Almost as soon as they'd entered the room Fenrir had nearly collapsed in fear at the thought of what such instruments could be used for and Thor had almost needed to carry him out.

Even the Arcanum, where Loki had always gone for comfort, had only caught Fenrir's eye for a few moments. The chance to use his magic seemed like it might finally be the thing that would excite him, but Fenrir only got as far as lighting a few candles before he retreated back into himself. It was almost enough to make a man give up. But then there were the moments like these; watching his nephew smile as he was tickled by horse whiskers.

"Do you think you still remember how to ride?" Thor asked, remembering the last time when he, Loki and Fenrir had gone hunting together.

"I don't know," Fenrir said. Thor was disappointed when he saw that the smile had already disappeared.

"I'll take you out tomorrow. You've always been a fast learner; I'm sure you'll remember it all quickly enough. A prince of Asgard must know how to ride," Thor watched as, for just a second, the smile ghosted back across Fenris's face. For the rest of the day Thor smiled for the both of them.

*/*/*/*/*/*

That night Frigga was late to their evening meal. When she arrived she went to give Thor a kiss on the forehead. It was a gesture that Thor had outgrown many years earlier, but the display made it easier to repeat the process on her grandson. Aside from Thor, Frigga was the only person that Fenrir allowed to come so close.

"How was your day?" She asked, leaving her grandson's side to take her place at the table.

"I saw the stables," Fenrir said quietly. No matter how many times, Thor, encouraged him to speak up, Fenrir, was reluctant to do more than whisper in front of the queen. "Thor said that he'd take me out riding." Frigga smiled at him.

"We'll have to see about getting you a horse," She said.

"I've already talked to Fandral. He's offered to give Fenrir one of his horses." Thor said, deciding to leave out the part where Fandral had made the offer as an apology for not helping to rescue Fenrir.

"He can certainly spare one." Frigga said with a smile. "From what I hear of the stables, his animals are all about as _social_ as their master."

The conversation took all of Fenrir's attention as he tried to figure out if his uncle's friend was being criticized by his grandmother. It seemed to be some sort of joke between them, and he wished he could join in, but it still made him feel uncomfortable to be included.

"And why are you late? There were no troubles at the audiences today, were there?" Thor asked as he began digging into his meal.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Frigga said.

"Well then where were you?" Thor asked again. "In all my life you've never been late for a meal by more than a minute or two."

"Oh no, I was late far more often than that. But it is hard to notice the punctuality of others when you make a habit of missing the first course of a meal," Frigga teased.

"You know I never liked salad." Thor said.

"If you must know I was with your father. I believe that he will wake up any day now." The rest of the meal was taken up with Thor and Frigga talking excitedly about everything they would have to tell the Allfather when he awoke.

In the excitement of the moment they missed that what little color Fenrir had was draining from his face. Despite the excited voices spinning around him, Fenrir couldn't help the pit of dread that was forming in his stomach. For, as nice as all their talk sounded, the return of Odin marked an event that he was dreading.

*/*/*/*/*

When it was time to retire Fenrir still hadn't been able to bring himself to speak of his problems aloud. As they prepared for bed Thor continued talking about the ride they would take the next day. Fenrir wanted to be excited about the outing but one thought kept circling in his head. This was too much to bear; he needed to say something.

"Thor…" Fenrir began to speak but fear changed his question at the last minute. "What's that?" Thor looked to the table to where Fenrir was pointing.

"It's a cell phone; a Midgardian device that allows people to communicate across long distances. Sadly it doesn't work beyond Earth."

"Then why do you have it?" Fenrir asked.

"I forgot to leave it behind when I came here," Thor said, with a shrug.

"I suppose you'll be using it again soon enough when you go back to Midgard," Thor turned to Fenrir. "With the Allfather waking up, I guess there's no reason for you to stay."

"I may stay a little longer," Thor said.

"But you are leaving. Frigga asked you to stay but, you said yourself that _Midgard_ is your home now," Fenrir finished bitterly.

"I have to return to Midgard. I told my team that I'd only be gone for a week and I've stayed a month already," Thor explained.

"I know but Frigga told me that you would stay until the Allfather woke up. I didn't think he would wake up so soon," Thor smiled, finally realizing what was troubling his nephew.

"My return to Midgard will not be permanent. I will come back to see you when I can. And with father returned from his slumber Frigga will be able to spend more time with you. Besides, you're a prince of Asgard. With Odin awake you'll be reintroduced to court life; you'd hardly have time for me anyway."

"I don't want you to leave," Fenrir said, his voice tight. This was too much for Thor. He immediately snatched Fenrir into a bone crushing hug.

"Soon your life will be so full that you won't even have time to miss me," Thor said.

"But what if something bad happens?" Fenrir asked. "What if something goes wrong and I need your help?"

"Fenris, you're not on Svartalfheim anymore. You are safe here. There's nothing for you to worry about," Thor said. "I will miss you, and I promise I will come back as often as my team can spare me."


	6. Chapter 6

Fenrir and Thor were in the stables the next morning when the guards came. Two Einherjar came running in and dropped into a bow before the two princes.

"My Prince," One said. "Your father has awakened. He commands your presence in the great hall immediately." Thor moved to take Fenrir's arm when the guard continued. "He insisted that you come alone. He was most firm on that point." Thor once again looked worriedly at Fenrir.

"Oh don't worry about the boy," Fandral said, stepping into the stables behind the guards. "I can keep him company until you come back."

"What in the Nine are you doing awake at this hour?" Thor asked his friend.

"I had planned a rendezvous with a rather lovely seamstress but we had to cut our time short. Something about her husband coming home early," Fandral said with a sigh. "So I thought I'd come and see that you were taking care of my horse." Thor laughed but the guards were getting increasingly impatient.

"He was very clear that you were to come directly to him," He insisted again.

"I'll be right back," Thor called to his companions as he headed to the palace.

*/*/*/*/*/*

When Thor arrived at the great hall it was empty. He looked around for his father but soon saw that the entire area was deserted. He found a chair and decided to wait. It wasn't uncommon for his father to be besieged by news and requests from his council the moment he awoke from his sleep and that was undoubtedly the reason he had been delayed. In truth Thor was more surprised that Odin would have any need to see him so soon but then, _of course_, there was Fenrir!

Thor realized that Frigga must have told Odin about the return of his grandson as soon as possible. His father must have called him to hear what Thor knew of Fenrir's imprisonment, before he met the boy himself. Odin would probably want to start a war with Svartalfheim when he heard about how far their deception went. Satisfied that he had figured out what was going on, Thor allowed himself to relax into his seat.

He hadn't realized how much time had passed until he heard approaching footsteps. He realized, as he rose from his seat, that the light step he heard on the stones couldn't possibly be his father's.

"Thor?" His mother said, entering the hall. "I thought you and Fenris were going out riding."

"Father summoned me."

"Your father is in the throne room. He's been with his council all morning."

"He sent a group of Einherjar to retrieve me. I assume that he wants to talk about what happened on Svartalfheim."

"Why didn't he have you come to him in the throne room?" Frigga asked, with more concern than Thor thought the question deserved.

"I'm sure he'll come when he can be spared."

"Thor, where are the soldiers?" Thor looked at his mother with confusion. "If your father thought a message was urgent enough that he sent einherjar to deliver it than I can't believe that he wouldn't have them bring you directly to him," Frigga looked at her son in near panic. "Come with me, quickly. Something is very wrong." She said, running from the room.

His mother's feelings were contagious and soon he was overtaking her in his rush to get to the throne room. When he reached the doors he found his way blocked by several more of the einherjar.

"Let me pass," Thor commanded.

"We've been given orders that no one is to enter until the king has completed his business," one of the soldiers said.

"Move." Frigga said, coming up shortly behind her son. The men seemed conflicted for a moment. On the one hand, they had been told to guard these doors with their lives. On the other hand, only a fool would disobey a direct order from the Queen. They quickly made up their minds and moved to open the doors.

Odin sat upon his golden throne at the far end of the room. A team of Einherjar clustered in a group in front of him. Thor and Frigga quickly approached.

"I would rather have had you both wait until this unpleasantness was resolved," Odin said, spotting the two. "However I suppose that it is for the best that you're both here. This way there can be no dissent later."

"What is going on?" Frigga asked.

"Upon awaking this morning I was greatly distressed to learn of all that had been going on in my absence. Most specifically your activities on Svartalfheim," Odin said, directing the last comment toward Thor. "I've already sent a delegate to King Auolies. Hopefully it won't be too late to repair the damage that you've done."

"What! You should be declaring war yourself, not begging his mercy," Thor shouted.

"Is that how you see it? My truce with Auolies had been on fragile ground for thousands of years, yet we have managed to stay allies. In just a few days you managed to go down to the planet, insult and threaten the king, try and extort treasure and then make off with one of his prisoners."

"I don't know who has told you these stories but they have left out the most important detail. The prisoner that I took from his dungeons was Fenrir! Auolies lied when he told you of his death. He had been keeping him as a prisoner; what I did was no less than you yourself would have done."

"You truly have no idea of the danger that you put this realm in."

"If Auolies even tries to bring an attack on Asgard then I'll gladly tear him down myself."

"I do not speak of the danger that would come from Svartalfheim. I'm talking about the threat you brought when you released that abomination from its cage," Odin said, pointing at a spot behind Thor. Thor turned around and saw for the first time what Frigga had already discovered.

The squad of einherjar that Thor had passed on his way to his father was surrounding Fenrir's kneeling form. Thor rushed over to his nephew only to have his way blocked.

"What have you done?" Frigga cried, turning on her husband.

"What was necessary," Odin said. "You both seem appalled by Auolies actions, but have you forgotten what Fenrir did to bring them on? Of the lives that he took?"

"He was a child," Frigga insisted.

"Exactly. A child capable of such destruction is not something to be taken lightly. If it hadn't been for my own weakness I would have killed him myself."

Thor turned as Odin's last remark had drawn a cry from Fenrir. For the first time since his arrival in the throne room Thor took a good look at his nephew. Thor thought he had seen Fenrir scared, but nothing compared to the look of pure terror that was now on his face. His arms were bound in front of him with chains and a piece of metal encircled his neck like a collar. Thor's disgust only grew when he saw that Fenrir's clothes were splashed with blood.

"Which one of you did this?" Thor demanded of the soldiers.

"It's not his blood," Odin said dryly. "When my men went to retrieve him he attempted to change into his wolf form and tear them apart. Don't let his look of helplessness fool you. The boy is a killer, just like his father."

"He was frightened," Thor explained. "He never would have fought anyone if he hadn't thought that they were there to do him harm."

"Yet no harm was caused; except by him. In the few minutes it took to contain him he managed to rip Tyr's hand off, and would have done worse if he hadn't been restrained," Odin said. "And what of your shield brother, Fandral? He attempted to defend him and nearly lost an arm for his troubles." This stopped Thor cold. What possible reason could Fenrir have had to hurt _Fandral_?

"This is madness," Frigga said. "He's our grandson."

"He is nothing to us," Odin said. "Loki has made very clear that we are no relation of his and as such, neither is his son."

"You can't hold him accountable for Loki's actions," Frigga insisted.

"I don't. I hold him accountable for his own," Odin declared, rising from his throne and descending the stairs in front of him. "This has gone on long enough. Guards, take him down to the dungeons."

Odin's command had an instant effect on Fenrir, who immediately began struggling against his captors.

"No!" He yelled, as they pulled him to his feet. "Don't! Thor! Thor!"

The screams followed him down the halls as he was taken from the room. His nephew's pleas woke Thor from his stupor and brought him back to the problem in front of him.

"You have to reconsider. Whatever Loki might have convinced himself, Fenrir is a part of our family," Thor said.

"You show the same misplaced loyalty to him that you showed to his father."

"My loyalty is not misplaced."

"Isn't it, that you would place his wellbeing before that of your realm?"

"He is no threat." Thor insisted.

"Enough!" Odin declared. "I've made my decision." With that he continued down the stairs and crossed out of the room. Thor moved to follow him but Frigga stopped him with a hand over his chest.

"Leave him for now," She said. "Go and check on your friend. If what Odin said is true than he'll be in the healing chambers. Have him tell you what happened and then join me in the dungeons." Without waiting for a response she left.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Fandral was sitting up in bed when Thor arrived, a healer rubbing a salve on his arm. Thor almost couldn't go further for fear of what he might hear. Finally he forced himself to approach the bed. Fandral looked up at his friend with regret.

"I suppose that you heard about what happened?" Fandral asked. Thor nodded.

"I'm sorry for what Fenrir did to your arm," Thor said.

"Fenrir?" Fandral asked with surprise. "Is he the one who did it? I'd assumed that it had been one of the guards."

"You don't remember?"

"I remember Erikk hitting me from behind with the butt of his spear. Things get a bit hazy after that." Fandral remembered, rubbing the back of his head.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened." Thor begged, hoping that his faith in his nephew hadn't been misplaced.

"As soon as you were out of sight of the stables the guards moved to restrain Fenrir. The boy began to panic so I tried to help him. The next thing I know weapons are being drawn and I'm battling against my own teammates." Fandral said, still unable to comprehend the bizarre turn the morning had taken.

"And what was Fenris doing during all of this?"

"Last I saw of him he was trying to run. I tried to pull a few of the guards off of him and that's when I was hit."

"What about your arm?"

"I couldn't tell you. I didn't even know about it until I woke up. I just assumed that I was slashed at some point in the melee." This was no surprise to Thor, as Fandral had often not taken notice of his injuries until a battle was over.

"So it wasn't Fenrir who attacked you?"

"It might have been, but I can't see when he would have had the chance. Who told you that it was him?"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

When Thor arrived in the dungeons it was with a new hope. He was convinced that Fenrir had had no part in what had happened to Fandral. With that one piece of information all of his faith in his nephew's goodness had been returned.

The palace dungeons were large and at first Thor was at a loss for where to look for his nephew. He'd assumed that he'd be brought to the main holding area, but when those cells proved empty of any but common criminals Thor was forced to expand his search. It was with an increasing feeling of unpleasantness that Thor went into the lower levels of the dungeon. He was beginning to suspect where Fenrir had been brought and the thought wasn't encouraging.

A few years ago the crystal containment cells had been the most secure on Asgard. They were believed to be impenetrable and so when Loki had been returned to Asgard that was where he'd been taken. For five months it seemed that all was well until one morning a guard had gone to bring Loki a meal and found the cell empty. No one, not even Heimdall, had been able to figure out how Loki had escaped. The next day Odin had begun construction on a cell that could contain Loki, no matter what magic he used.

Thor supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised when he found his mother waiting for him in Loki's cell.

"Fandral was hurt by one of the Einherjar. Fenris had nothing to do with it," Thor proclaimed, as he entered the room.

"I was sure that he hadn't. I'm glad that he removed your doubt," Frigga said sadly. She was crouched on the floor in front of Fenrir, who was curled up, clutching his knees to the front of his chest. "He's in shock. He hasn't said a word since I came in."

Thor moved to sit next to his mother. He could clearly hear Fenrir's harsh breathing. Thor wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around his nephew, but he had the feeling that that would only make matters worse.

"What do we do?" Thor asked.

"I don't know." Frigga said, caressing Fenrir's cheek. "You father seems set in his hate. I never thought he could be capable of something so cruel."

"We have to get him out of here," Thor said, rising to his feet. "I didn't free him from one prison only to see him locked into another,"

"I see no easy solution."

"It need not be easy," Thor said.

"Do you really mean that?" Frigga asked, looking away from her grandson for the first time since Thor had entered the room. "How much are you truly willing to do for him?"

Thor saw immediately that this was no idle question. He looked at his nephew cowering in front of his mother. He was reminded of when Loki had been locked in his own cell after his attempt to conquer Midgard with the Chitauri had failed. Frigga had brought him to try and help her reason with Loki. To get him to see reason and accept the terrible weight of what he'd done. It was then, as Loki made clear the contempt he had for all humans, that Thor realized how lost his brother was. Loki was so filled with hate that only a miracle would make any difference. Thor saw that by not seeing how dark the path his brother was on, and Loki would always be his brother, that he had failed him.

As he thought of all this Thor knew that he had the answer to his mother's question. He wasn't going to fail Fenris.

"I'll do whatever it takes if it means Fenris will have his freedom," This brought a fleeting smile to Frigga's face that was soon replaced with concern.

"There may be a way. In truth it is the only way that I can see but, even if we can get Odin to agree, then Fenris's entire future would be uncertain."

"Tell me what I must do," Thor said without hesitation.

"Stay with Fenris for now. I'll need time to sway Odin to my plan and in the meantime I won't be able to come here as much as I'd like. Also, I'll need you to stay as far away from your father as you can," She finished without explanation.

"Since I'll be spending my time here, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Then I suppose there's no reason for me to delay." She said, moving to stand.

While Fenrir hadn't seemed to register Frigga's presence, the prospect of her removal seemed to wake him up. He looked up at her, eyes pleading with her not to leave. She knelt back down and kissed him on the forehead.

"Don't be afraid. I'll return as soon as I can," She whispered, and then left the room.

Immediately Fenrir's eyes turned to Thor, no longer holding their look of loving hope.

"Leave," He hissed.

"Fenris," Thor began.

"I want you gone."

"Frigga told me to stay with you." Thor crouched down in front of his nephew only to have him push himself away.

"I don't want you here. Go back to Earth," Fenrir said, with a glare.

"I will not leave you."

"You already left me. You left me alone in the stables and let those men take me." Fenrir said.

"I never thought you would be in any danger."

"Liar," Fenrir muttered. "You told me my life here would be good. You said that when Odin woke up everything would be alright. You said that you would keep me safe; you lied about everything!"

This was the first time Thor had heard Fenrir raise his voice. Up until this moment it had seemed like the sound of his own voice had been too much for the boy. Several times Thor had found himself wishing that he would discover his confidence and speak without hesitation. The realization of his wish was a somewhat hollow victory.

"I'm sorry," Thor said.

Fenrir's anger seemed to evaporate. Slowly he rose to his feet and walked to the other end of his cell; going as far from Thor as he could. He sat down in a corner and curled back into himself.

"Please, just leave me alone," He said, more to himself than to his uncle.

Thor tried to think of something he could say to his nephew, something that would show him that he was on his side. That he wasn't going to abandon him. He tried, but he couldn't think of anything. So, without another word, he got up and he walked out of the dungeons.

**Author's Note: So I have become addicted to seeing a response to this story, be it in reviews or just checking to see how many people have read. To help feed my habit, click review.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Thor wandered the halls of the palace, trying to calm down. What he wanted most was to summon Mjolnir, smash the walls of the dungeons and fly his nephew to safety, but he knew that that wouldn't do any good. Odin seemed convinced that Fenrir was a danger and would insist on hunting them both down. And, since Fenrir had decided that he hated Thor, he might decide that imprisonment was preferable to an escape with him.

Thor passed a statue of Ysgadril and impulsively put his fist through it. The sound of smashing stone drew servants and Thor left them to deal with the mess. Before he knew where he was going he found himself back at his own rooms.

Thor went inside and paced for a while. He fought against his urge to run back down to the dungeon. After everything Fenrir suffered he deserved to have some control. If he wanted Thor to leave then he would leave. For a while at least.

"Thor?" Sif said, entering the room. "I was hoping I'd find you here. I heard what happened at the stables."

"I suppose Fandral told you," Thor said.

"No, I haven't been to see him yet, is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. He'll probably be back on his feet by days end," Thor said, continuing to move around in circles.

"And how are you?" Sif asked, following her friend as he paced around the room.

"I can't believe that he would do something like this. I never would have thought him capable of something so heartless."

"Thor," Sif stopped in front of Thor, blocking his movements. "I know that you had high hopes for how this would all turn out. But you had to know it was a risk when you brought him back."

"How could I have known this would happen?"

"It's not as though this is the first time Fenrir has attacked someone. I know that you wanted to believe in his goodness but there was always the chance that he was going to strike out again," Sif said, reaching out an arm to comfort her friend.

"Fenris didn't do anything," Thor growled, pulling out of Sif's grasp. "The Einherjar attacked him. All he did he did in self-defense."

"Did he tell you this?" Sif challenged. "The entire palace is talking about it, Thor. Over a dozen people saw him go after Tyr and if there was any aggressor then it was Fenrir."

"They're wrong," Thor insisted.

"And is the All-Father wrong too? Thor you should know your father well enough to know that he wouldn't sentence someone to the dungeons who didn't deserve to be there," Sif said. "Your father knows what he's doing. Trust him, even if you can't trust me." For a moment Sif thought she might have gotten through to him, but then he spoke.

"I trust Frigga, she believes in Fenrir, and so do I," Thor said.

"Then it would seem that I'm wasting my time here," Sif didn't stay for long after that, and Thor was glad to have the room to himself again.

Thor dropped down onto his bed, feeling completely exhausted. What they were saying in the palace was nonsense. There was no way that Fenrir would begin a fight and he was tired of people trying to convince him that he had. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on the pile of blankets that Fenrir had been using as a bed.

Thor had offered to have another bed brought into the room, and later to arrange for a second room, but Fenrir had always turned him down. He'd insisted that he was more comfortable on the floor. Thor groaned as he fell backwards on the bed. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Thor turned to look back at the blankets and saw something sticking out from between the folds. He got up and moved the blankets to take a look. It was a book of legends the Fenrir had been reading the night before. It was one of Loki's and so far it had been the only thing that Fenrir had allowed himself to take from his father's room. Thor picked it up and decided that he would bring it with him when he brought Fenrir his supper.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Fenrir jerked up when he saw the door open, but relaxed when he saw that it was only his uncle.

"I brought you dinner," Thor said, pushing a tray across the floor.

"I'm not hungry," Fenrir said, curling farther into the corner where he was sitting.

"Perhaps later then. I brought you something else as well," Thor said, offering out the book.

The moment Fenrir saw what his uncle was offering he snatched it from his hands and held it tightly to his chest.

"Thank you," He whispered.

"I could bring other things if you'd like. More books or something," Thor offered, wanting to regain his nephews trust while he had the opportunity.

"No, I don't… I don't need anything," Fenrir said, so quietly that Thor almost missed the last word. For a while the two men sat in silence before Fenrir spoke again.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I shouldn't have done that," He said, as quietly as before. "It's not your fault that I'm here."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to defend you," Thor said. "Fenris. Fenris, look at me." Thor waited until he saw Fenrir's eyes to continue. "You are not going to stay in this cell. Even now Frigga is speaking on your behalf. We will have you released."

"It doesn't matter. Nothing has changed," Fenrir sat back against the wall and pulled his legs up to his chest. "It was my own foolishness. I knew what would happen when he woke up but the way that you and Frigga spoke made me believe that his feelings might have changed."

"Odin is acting from the belief that you are a threat. As soon as he can be made to see the truth he will care for you as he once did," Fenrir looked at Thor in confusion for a few moments before speaking.

"Odin always hated me. He was more than happy to send me away, when given the chance."

"I know that it must seem like that now, but you must remember that there was a time when Odin cared greatly for you," Fenrir continued to stare at Thor in disbelief.

"I was his bastard grandson and a constant reminder of his son's short comings. If it had been up to him my father never would have brought me home."

"How can you think that?" Thor asked, stunned at what he was hearing.

"Because it's true. I heard them fight about it more than once. Odin wanted my father to send me away, but he wouldn't," For a moment Fenrir seemed lost in a memory. "I was his. I was his and he would never give me up."

"You must have misunderstood. You were only a child, you may not be remembering correctly," Thor insisted.

"Perhaps." Fenrir said, suddenly seeming to be exhausted. "I've been wrong about a lot of things."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

It was two more days before Frigga could return to the dungeons. Upon entering she went straight to her grandson and kissed him on the forehead. He leaned into her touch and, for a moment, Thor was jealous at the trust that his mother was able to bring forth so effortlessly.

"How are you?" She asked, kneeling to sit beside him.

"I'm fine. Thor's been bringing me meals," Fenrir said.

"I'm so sorry that you've had to endure all of this, but it won't be for much longer."

"Does this mean that you've gotten father to see reason?" Thor asked, hopefully.

"It is almost done. I must return to him shortly but I wanted to see you," She said, kissing Fenrir again. "And I need to speak with you." She said turning to Thor. "Would you escort me out?" Thor rose to join his mother and walked her out of the cell. They were only a few paces away when she stopped him.

"You said that you would do anything for Fenris. If you have any doubts then you need to tell me now," The look in Frigga's eyes left no doubt as to the severity of the question.

"I meant what I said," Thor said.

"In some ways things are going better than I'd hoped," Frigga said, relaxing slightly. "I have been able to convince your father to consider an alternative to imprisonment. But he still insists on so many conditions that his fate would hardly be an improvement on what he has now. One way or another, it will be decided by the end of the day."

Thor waited for her to explain her plans to him but she seemed determined to keep him in the dark.

"I hope you're successful," He said, at a loss for what to do.

"I don't think I've ever been more proud to be your mother than I have been in this past week," She said, smiling and embracing her son. "I must go and finish what I have begun. Try and reassure Fenris. He's doing his best to hide it, but he's terrified of what might happen to him." Frigga began to leave but Thor stopped her.

"Before you go there is something I need to ask you. It is something Fenris said," Frigga stood and waited for her son to speak. "Fenris said that, as a child, he heard Loki and father fighting over him. That father wanted him sent away but Loki wouldn't allow it. Is this true?"

"Your brother's situation wasn't exactly typical." Frigga said. "It would have been different if he'd married the girl. Then it would have just been seen as an act of romance. Without her…."

"So he was ashamed of him." Thor said, stunned.

"It was more complicated than that," Frigga said, sadly. When it became clear that Thor had nothing else to say Frigga left. Thor continued on in the hall and tried to understand what he'd just learned. How had he never known this about his father? It was true that most men in Loki's situation didn't choose to raise their children themselves, but there was no harm in it.

Thor continued to process this new knowledge as he walked back to the cell but the sight he saw when he entered pushed all other thoughts from his mind.

Fenrir's neck was covered in blood and he was clawing at his flesh. Thor rushed over and pushed his nephew's hands to the floor.

"NO!" Fenrir shouted, struggling to free his arms.

"What are you doing?" Thor demanded.

"I want it off!" Fenrir screamed. He continued to struggle and finally Thor slammed a hand into his chest and pushed him to the floor.

"Stop!" He commanded. The impact seemed to have the desired effect and Fenrir calmed down. "What's wrong?" Thor asked.

Fenrir's eyes filled with tears at the question. Thor let him up and his hands immediately went to his neck. Thor was about to grab him again when he saw that his nephew wasn't trying to hurt himself. Now he was merely pulling at the steel collar that he'd been wearing since he'd been captured. The metal was covered in runes that prevented Fenrir from using his magic and also stopped any attempt he might have made to leave the cell.

"Please take it off," Fenrir begged. "I promise I'll never use magic again."

"Only Odin can take it off," Thor said. At this, Fenrir began to cry in earnest.

"Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" He sobbed.

"I couldn't let you hurt yourself," Thor explained, as he searched the room for something he could use as a bandage.

"I meant on Svartalfheim. You should have just left me there."

"You were being tortured. I couldn't just leave you."

"It was better. It was better before," Fenrir insisted, as he got to his feet. Thor saw that he'd begun scratching at his neck again and went back to pull his hands away. "I knew that I was never going to leave. I knew that I was going to be in that cell until I died. I had accepted that. I was resigned to it. Now it's going to be worse than ever."

"Fenris, we're going to get you out of here."

"Was it fun? Dragging me all over the palace," Fenrir snarled at his uncle. "Showing me all the things I used to care about. Showing me all the things that could make me happy and knowing that you were just going to take them away again?"

Thor caught him as he crumpled to the ground. "I believed you." Fenrir said with a sob. "I believed everything you said about how I was safe. How happy I was going to be. I believed all of it," Thor pulled his nephew into a hug and, for the first time, Fenrir didn't pull away.

"I don't want to be locked up again," Fenrir said. "Please, I can't do it again."

Thor continued to hold him while he sobbed; knowing that whatever answer the Allfather gave he was getting his nephew out of this cell.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

They were still like that when Frigga came back. Thor, sitting on the floor with his arms around his nephew, and Fenrir slumped against him.

"Has he made his decision?" Thor asked.

"He has," Frigga said, sitting down in front of them and placing a wooden box beside her. "Odin has agreed to change your sentence to banishment, instead of imprisonment, as long as you are willing to agree to his conditions."

"Anything," Fenrir said, straightening up.

"The first is that you not use your magic," Frigga said, opening the box and taking out two gold manacles. "You must agree to wear these. They are similar to the collar you've been wearing. They will suppress your magic."

"Will I be able to take off the collar?" Fenrir asked, fingering the metal around his neck. Frigga nodded, and he took the manacles without complaint.

"After your banishment you will be forever barred from returning to Asgard. Once you leave this cell you must go straight to the Bifrost. If you should ever return to Asgard, for any reason, then-" Frigga struggled to finish her sentence. "If you ever return to Asgard then your life will be forfeit." There was a moment of silence following Frigga's admission.

"Has he said…Where does he want me to go?" Fenrir asked, nervously.

"He has agreed to let you go to Midgard with Thor," Frigga said. She turned to her son for her next piece of news. "All of this is dependent on your agreeing to be his guardian. You will need to be responsible for him and if he were to break the terms of his banishment then you would share in his punishment."

Thor couldn't believe this. He'd been expecting his part in all of this to be some terrible task and all that was being asked was that he watch over his nephew! Nothing could be easier. Thor smiled at Fenrir.

"It looks as though you won't need to miss me after all," He said. Fenrir looked at his uncle and then down at the floor.

"Fenris, will you agree to go with Thor?" Frigga asked.

"Did…Didn't my father try and begin a war with Midgard?" Fenrir asked. "Don't you think they might be mad?"

"The only people who will need to know of your parentage will be my teammates, and they would never hold you accountable for something that you didn't do," Thor assured him.

Fenrir still seemed uneasy but he agreed to go live with his uncle on Earth.

"The last condition concerns your father," Frigga said. "Odin won't stop Loki from knowing that you're alive, even from trying to contact you, but you can never go with him. If Loki is ever seen to be in possession of you then Odin will send down the Einherjar and you'll be in the dungeons within the hour."

"You speak of him like he's a sword," Thor said, confused.

"I'm only trying to make your father's ruling clear. This was the point that he was most firm on. He's convinced that if you and your father are reunited then you would attempt to destroy Asgard."

"I wouldn't do something like that," Fenrir whispered.

"We know that," Thor said.

"The rule is only that you can't live with him. As long as the two of you don't appear to be plotting destruction then there is no reason he couldn't come and see you," Frigga said. "I made sure of that."

"I agree. I agree to all of it," Fenrir said, quickly.

"Is there anything else?" Thor asked.

"No."

"Then when can I take him out of here?"

"Fenris can leave as early as tomorrow, but once he leaves this cell he must be taken straight to the Bifrost."

"Then that is when we'll leave," Thor said, standing up. "I'll go prepare for our departure." Thor said, rising from his place on the floor. "I'll return in the morning. Will you be alright alone until I return?" Fenrir slid a hand along the scratches on his neck before pulling his arm down to his side.

"I'll be good," Fenrir said, with a nod.

"I'll come to get you at first light; you have my word," Thor promised.

"Are you sure that you'll be ready to leave so soon?" Frigga asked, when Thor joined her in the hallway.

"There isn't much I need to do. Say good bye to my friends and gather a few things. There is a chest in Loki's room that I think Fenris would want to have. Besides that I could leave now."

"I'm glad. The sooner Fenris is away from here the better," She smiled at Thor. "I know you'll keep him safe."

"There is one thing I must know," Thor said. "You kept asking me what I would be willing to do for Fenris and how far I would go to see him free. Were you really so concerned that I wouldn't take him to Midgard with me?"

"No. I knew that if I could convince Odin to agree to banishment then you would do what was right," Frigga said.

"Then why did you keep asking me for a pledge of devotion?"

"We both swore that we wouldn't allow Fenris to be imprisoned again," Frigga said, taking a deep breath. "If Odin had refused to set him free, then I would have had to ask you free him yourself."

**Authors Note: Let me know what you think. What's working for you and what isn't. It's the only way I'll grow as a writer.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next morning, Thor was still reeling from the revelation that his mother had been prepared to commit treason. He was so caught in the thought that he didn't see Sif approaching until he almost ran into her.

"Sif, I'm glad to see you. I couldn't find you last night when I was saying farewell and I was afraid I wouldn't have a chance to talk to you before I left," Thor said.

"So the rumors are true," Sif said, eyeing the chest Thor was carrying over his shoulder. "You really are bringing Fenrir to Midgard."

"I'm on my way to his cell now."

"Thor, where exactly on Midgard are you planning to take Fenrir?" Sif asked, walking alongside Thor as he began moving down the hall.

"He'll stay at Avengers Tower with me."

"You and the Avengers?"

"Naturally."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Thor stopped to face his friend.

"You still think that he's dangerous don't you?"

"I think that this plan is dangerous." Sif said, slowly.

"This plan was made by Frigga. She would not send her only grandson to Midgard if she did not think it was for the best," He explained.

"Frigga is desperate to get Fenrir out of the dungeon. Her judgment might not be as clear as it usually is." Sif reasoned.

"She wants him to be safe, and what safer place could he find than the home of me and the Avengers?" Thor shifted the chest from one shoulder to the next before continuing.

"Thor, your friends might not be thrilled at the idea of housing the son of their greatest enemy," Sif explained.

"My teammates will understand. Besides any concerns they might have will vanish when they learn that his magic is being suppressed."

"Don't take him with you, Thor," Sif said. Thor was about to argue, when she continued. "Not until you tell your teammates what is going on. If they're really as understanding as you think then Fenrir will only be delayed a few days."

"I can't force him to spend another _hour_ in that cell. Not when I promised him that we would be leaving," Thor saw the logic of what Sif said, and in truth he was worried about how the other Avengers would react to Fenrir, but he couldn't change his plans. So he said his goodbye and continued on his way. Unfortunately, he soon found the path to the dungeon blocked.

"Preparing to bring your new charge to Midgard?" Odin asked, eyeing the chest over Thor's shoulder. Thor remained silent and waited for Odin to move away from the door. Finally Odin stepped to the side and motioned for Thor to continue on.

"You think my actions are cruel?" Odin asked, just as Thor had begun to descend the stairs.

"I think they are insane," Thor said, refusing to look back.

"You still allow your emotions to rule over your judgment. As a king you'll have to see the truth beyond your own desires." Odin said.

"And what is the truth?" Thor demanded, slamming the chest to the ground. "What is it about Fenrir that you hate so much? What are you afraid of?"

"When Loki brought his son home I was displeased but I allowed it. I saw no harm in letting him play at fatherhood. But a few weeks after his arrival a seer came to the palace with a prophesy about Fenrir," Odin said.

"And she told you about what would happen on Svartalfheim?" Thor asked.

"No. She said that Fenrir would become powerful beyond control. That one day he would stand before the greatest warrior in the realm and bring him to his knees. And that he would be the one to bring Ragnarok to Asgard," Odin finished and for a moment Thor felt himself frozen.

"Prophesies don't always come true," He said, finally. "And even then they are rarely what we think they will be. It might not mean what it sounds like it means," Thor said, wanting to convince himself as much as his father.

"I once convinced myself the same thing. For years I was able to hope that Fenrir would be nothing to fear; but then Loki began to teach him magic. You remember how quickly he learned tricks that took his father years to master," Odin said. "I saw the danger building and still I allowed him to remain. Then we brought him to Svartalfheim."

"That was an accident," Thor said.

"There was no denying what he was, or what he would do, after that," Odin said, ignoring Thor. "King Auolies was eager to have justice for his people, so I agreed to his terms and rid Asgard of a threat."

"You knew what he was going to do to Fenrir?"

"The details of his imprisonment were irrelevant. Auolies agreed to keep him contained and without access to his magic, and that was all that mattered," Odin said. Thor felt sick at what he was hearing.

"Now you know all," Odin said. "It is not too late for you to change your mind. Leave the boy where he is and return to Midgard on your own," Thor began to protest but Odin quickly interrupted him. "It won't be like Svartalfheim. The only person who would have access to his cell would be Frigga. He will not be harmed; merely confined," Odin had barely finished speaking when Thor made his answer.

"No," He said, picking the trunk up from where he'd left it. He turned to leave when Odin stopped him again.

"Thor," He said, quietly. "Once Fenrir leaves Asgard his threat to us will be gone. As long as he obeys the terms of his banishment then I need never be concerned with him again. But the threat to you will be greater than ever. There is no question that on Midgard** you** are 'the greatest warrior in the realm'."

"I will take the risk," Thor said, turning his back on his father and going down to the dungeon.

/*/*/*/*/*/*

"Thor," Fenrir jumped to his feet the moment he saw the door open. "Are we going?"

"We can go as soon as-" Thor stopped mid-sentence when he saw the Fenrir's neck was bare. "How did you get the collar off?" Fenrir's eyes immediately dropped to the ground.

"O-Odin sent someone here already. He… he took the collar off," Fenrir said. "Are we going?" He asked again, looking at Thor nervously.

"With the collar gone there's nothing left to stop us." A look of relief drifted across Fenrir's face so quickly that Thor almost missed it; but not quite.

For the first time since his arrival on Asgard Thor didn't have to drag Fenrir along behind him. As they left the dungeons Fenrir hurried to keep pace with his uncle. Looking over Thor saw that Fenrir was holding tightly to the book he'd brought him on his first day in the dungeon. He offered to put it into the chest but Fenrir seemed reluctant to let it go so they simply continued on their way to the Bifrost.

"Frigga," Fenrir said, when he saw his grandmother waiting for him. "You came."

"I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Frigga replied, going to join him. Thor decided to let them have a moment alone and went over to stand with Heimdall.

"Where am I sending you?" Heimdall asked, giving Fenrir a wary look.

"To Midgard," Thor said, when suddenly he got an idea. "To the land of my Lady Jane." Heimdall gave him a questioning look before nodding his head.

"Very well," He said, opening the bridge. Thor turned to where his mother and Fenrir were still talking.

"Fenris, are you ready to go?" Thor asked. Fenrir took one last look at Frigga before he nodded and went to join Thor.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The trip between the realms took less than a minute, but it was enough time for Fenrir to completely lose his composure. As soon as their landing was complete Fenrir dropped to his hands and knees, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry," He said to the sand.

Thor held out a hand to help his nephew up. He wanted to say something comforting. Anything to reassure his nephew.

"We'll walk from here," Was all he could come up with. Still it seemed that it was enough and Fenrir reached out a hand and let Thor help him up.

They were only a few minutes into their walk toward the town when Thor saw a glint of light moving toward them in the distance.

"She must have seen us land," A huge smile lit up his face as he watched the van approach. Thor swung an arm around his nephew. "It seems you won't need to walk after all."

Fenrir watched the van pull up to them and fought against his desire to shake Thor off. The van stopped and Jane sprang out of the driver's seat. Thor let go of Fenrir and opened his arms to catch Jane.

"Thor!" Jane yelled, springing into his arms. Fenrir wished that he could smile at what was clearly a happy reunion. But once they started kissing he couldn't help but stare at the ground and wait for it to be over. "I was starting to think they'd finally convinced you to stay in Asgard." Jane said, pulling away.

"No," Thor said. For a second his smile faltered. "It may be a long time before I return to Asgard." Jane started to say something, when she saw Fenrir.

"Oh. I'm sorry; I didn't know you brought someone with you," Jane said, her cheeks beginning to turn red.

"Fenris," Thor called over his shoulder. Fenrir walked a few steps and let Thor pull him the rest of the way forward. "This is the Lady Jane." Thor said, beaming at her. "One of the wisest women in this realm. She is my dearest companion on Midgard."

Jane smiled at Thor and reached out to shake Fenrir's hand. Fenrir flinched backwards.

"Jane, I would like to present my nephew, Fenrir," Thor said. This time it was Jane's turn to flinch.

"Nephew? Then that would make him…?" Jane didn't want to finish.

"He is Loki's son," Thor said.

"Oh. Loki's son," Jane said, stunned. "Okay, so he's, um, what's he doing here?"

"He has come to stay with me," Thor explained.

"Stay here?" Jane asked. "Why? Since when does Loki even have kids?"

"Much has happened since I left, and I promise that I will explain everything. But first I must ask you for a favor." Thor said. Jane waited for him to finish. "I must return to New York, to speak with my fellow Avengers. I need to explain what happened on Asgard and convince them that it is safe to allow Fenrir to live at the tower. Until I do this I don't think he can remain with me. Jane, there is no one I would trust more to look after him while I am gone." The shock following Thor's announcement was felt on all sides.

"What?!" Fenrir gasped.

"I don't understand," Jane said. She couldn't believe what Thor was telling her. There was no way Thor was asking her to take care of Loki's son.

"I thought I was staying with you. You said I was staying with you," Fenrir said, the panic showing through in his voice.

"You will come with me," Thor insisted, reaching out a hand to comfort his nephew. "This is only for a short time."

"Thor, I don't know if this is a good idea," Jane said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"It's not," Fenrir added.

"Please," Thor said to both of them. "If I bring Fenrir with me now then I fear that all the other Avengers will see is Loki. I need a chance to explain. To bring him there before I do could make things…difficult."

"Thor you can't just dump your nephew here. I don't even know him," Jane said.

"Jane, I promise you that Fenrir will bring no harm to anyone," Thor said.

"That's not what I'm worried about. Although it does worry me a little that that was the first place your mind went to." Jane said with a look toward Fenrir.

"What's wrong with assuring you that Fenrir is not dangerous?" Thor asked.

"Thor…" Jane began.

"Please, Jane," Thor said, looking distressed. "You are the only person I can trust to do this."

Jane's first impulse was to say no. To refuse to let anything connected with Loki anywhere near her or her home. Thor always wanted to see the good in people he loved, even when it wasn't there. She couldn't take the risk that Loki's son was more dangerous than Thor wanted to believe. She was all ready to say this to Thor. That's why she was so surprised when she heard herself say "okay".

"Thank you, Jane." Thor said. "I promise you that I will be back in a day."

"And you're sure he's… you're sure." She whispered, with a look toward Fenrir.

"He's been through much, but he's a good boy," Thor said earnestly. He then turned his eyes toward his nephew and saw that he'd lost what little color he'd had. Thor quickly went over and tried to reassure him. "I will be back soon."

"Just let me come now." Fenrir pleaded. Thor looked sadly at his nephew.

"I will come back as quickly as I can," Thor said, putting a hand on Fenrir's shoulder. "Trust, Jane. She will not let you come to harm." And with that, Thor quickly loaded the chest into Jane's van, took one last look at them both, spun his hammer and took off. Leaving Fenrir and Jane standing alone in the dessert.

"I guess you're coming home with me." Jane said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"So let me see if I've got all of this straight." Tony said, rubbing his face with his hand. "You went back to Asgard for some family time and discovered your not dead nephew. You blackmailed his jailer into letting you take him home with you and found out that Odin is a pretty sucky grandpa. You then decided that the best place you could bring **Loki's son **is a home full of his father's greatest enemies. Did I miss anything?"

"I actually found him when I was on Svartalfheim." Thor said.

"Well that changes everything." Bruce muttered.

"Thor, you can't honestly think that bringing Loki's son to live here is a good idea." Natasha said.

"I understand that the situation is not ideal." Thor said.

"I really don't think you do." Clint said. In the hours since Thor had started his petition, Clint hadn't moved from his seat in the corner. Just the mention of Loki had left him itching to go out and shoot something.

"Thor, I'm sure you're excited to have your nephew back, but even you have to see how dangerous it would be to have him living here." Steve said. "Even if his magic is bound." He added when he saw Thor about to argue.

"He's no danger to anyone. I swear to you that Fenrir is a good person." Thor insisted.

"But he was a danger to someone." Fury stood up from his seat at the head of the table, where he'd been mostly silent since Thor had begun his story. "You said that he was punished more than his crime deserved, but you always seem to leave out what exactly his crime was. You say that Odin agreed that years of torture was a valid punishment. So I'm wondering what could have been bad enough that he would toss his grandson to the wolves." Thor flinched at Fury's choice of words.

"He didn't understand what he did. He was only a child." Thor said, sadly.

"So you've said. What did he do?" Fury demanded.

"Fenrir was always a clever child." Thor began. "Like Loki he showed an early aptitude for magic. But where my brother gained his skill through years of study, everything just came to Fenrir. Most notable of his skills was a natural ability to shape shift. As a young child he could summon the form of a great wolf as easily as I call Mjolnir.

"We were on a visit to Svartalfheim. Back when they were our allies. Loki brought Fenrir, but he became bored with all the talk and he left us to join a group of children playing nearby." At this Thor became quiet. The memory wasn't a pleasant one.

"What'd he do to the kids?" Bruce asked.

"He only wished to show off his abilities. He changed into a wolf. One of the children was frightened and threw a rock at him. Fenrir fought back. I know that what he did was terrible, but he didn't—"

"What happened to the kids?" Steve asked.

"Come on, Steve; don't make him spell it out. Jr. threw a temper tantrum and killed his friends. Right, Thor?" Clint asked. Thor simply hung his head. "So how many did he kill?"

"He didn't mean to hurt anyone. He couldn't have." Thor insisted.

"How many?" Clint repeated.

"Nine." Thor said. "But he was only a child-"

"That makes it worse!" Clint yelled. "If he could do that as a kid then what's a few thousand years and some abuse going to produce?"

"I'm sorry, Thor, but he's got a point." Steve said.

"Then that is your decision? You won't let me bring him here?" Thor asked.

"I think I can safely speak for the entire planet, when I say no." Fury said.

"Then I am sorry to say that I must leave the Avengers." Thor said.

"Oh, come on! Don't be ridiculous." Clint said.

"Thor, you can't just quit." Bruce said.

"I have sworn an oath to my nephew that I would keep him safe. I can't do that if I'm here and he's not." Thor said.

"You're being a little dramatic aren't you?" Natasha said. "Do you really expect us to believe that you'd leave the team over this?"

"I swore to Fenrir that I would not let him be imprisoned again." Thor said. "The only way that can happen is if he comes to live with me. If he's not welcome here than I'll have to find someplace else."

"How about the promise that you made to us?" Clint said. "Remember when we formed the Avengers and you swore to stand by us whenever we needed you."

"It pains me to break an oath to my team but he is my family." Thor explained.

"Since when?" Tony asked, with a groan. "You've never even mentioned him until today. Hell, did **you** even know you had a nephew before this?"

"Fenrir's death was a painful memory and one I did not like to recall so, it is true that, I did not speak of him. But you would be wrong to read into my silence a lack of affection." Thor said.

"We need you on the team." Tony insisted. "You're half our fire power. Can't you just find Fido, a baby sitter and visit him on the weekends?"

"There is no one on Midgard that I could ask to take on that responsibility." Thor said.

"So leave him on Asgard." Clint said.

"I told you, he was banished." Thor said.

"Thor," Fury said, as an unpleasant realization began to hit him "you said that the deal was that Fenrir would get released if he could stay with you on Earth. Where is your nephew right now, and please, tell me that it's in a cell on Asgard waiting for our answer."

"I couldn't just make him wait in the dungeons." Thor said. "He left Asgard when I did."

"So he's, what, been waiting for you at Starbucks?" Tony asked.

"I wouldn't just leave him alone like that." Thor said.

"Thor." Steve said, slowly. "Where exactly is your nephew right now?"

"I left him with Jane." This announcement was met with a moment of stunned silence followed by pandemonium.

"You're telling me that you left Loki's murderous son **unguarded** in New Mexico?" Fury demanded.

"Not unguarded. He's with Jane." Fury ignored Thor's reassurance and pulled out his comm.

"I need all available agents in the South West sector to move to Puente Antigua. We have a potentially lethal situation brewing." Thor immediately began arguing with Fury and the rest of the team joining in. All except for Bruce who couldn't stop thinking about time. Like how much time they had all spent listening to Thor explain his situation, or how long it had taken for Tony to get everyone together when Thor had requested a meeting. Or how long Thor had been waiting alone in the tower because Tony was on a date with Pepper.

"Thor, when did you get back?" Bruce asked.

"I landed early, Monday morning." Thor answered. Once again the room went silent.

"He's been here two days?" Steve asked.

"I hadn't thought that our discussions would take so long." Thor said. Fury was about to grab his comm again when Steve jumped in.

"Tony, go with Thor to New Mexico and grab Fenrir. We'll keep him here in one of Bruce's panic rooms until we can work something out. We can debate the rest later." Steve said. Tony and Thor left the room and Steve turned to address the rest of the team.

"The rest of you suit up. God only knows what those two are bringing back."

Tony couldn't help but be a little proud of himself. Flying from New York to New Mexico in twenty five minutes was a new record for him. Clearly rerouting the thrusters had been another stroke of genius. He wished he could tell someone but the only other person in the sky was Thor, and he never seemed to see the beauty in suit technology. It was one of the great tragedies Tony had seen of being raised in a world of magic.

"Hey, Point Break, which one of these is your girlfriend's?" Tony asked, when he saw Thor beginning to descend. Thor pointed at what looked like an old gas station and they landed. Immediately a dark haired girl came running out of the building.

"Where the hell were you? Jane said you were only supposed to be gone a day." Darcy yelled, tossing a textbook at Thor's chest.

"Thor forgot to mention a few things. Is everything ok here?" Tony asked, quickly scanning the area for signs of carnage.

"Sure, I mean, it isn't like we really needed a kitchen." Darcy said, with another glare towards Thor.

"Is Fenris alright?" Thor asked.

"I honestly have no idea." Darcy said. "Psycho boy locked himself in Jane's trailer yesterday and hasn't come out since."


	10. Chapter 10

Two days earlier:

"I guess you're coming home with me," Jane said. Fenrir stared at her for a moment, like he was about to say something, and then looked down at the sand in defeat. Clearly he wasn't any more excited about their arrangement than she was. She sighed and headed back to her van.

As it turned out, getting Fenrir home was no easy feat. He'd never seen, much less ridden, in a car before. He'd stood outside the van for five minutes, just staring before Jane realized what the problem was and opened his door for him. Once inside he continued to stare at her equipment with confusion.

She'd never gone through any of this with Thor. He'd been just as unfamiliar with Earth technology but he'd just always taken it in stride.

"Is this where you live?" Fenrir asked.

"No this is just transportation," Jane said. Fenrir continued looking around. Jane began the drive back and noticed that, despite her slow speed, Fenrir was gripping the sides of his seat like he was about to be thrown off. "So, you're Thor's nephew?" Jane said, desperate to break the silence.

Fenrir only gave her a quick glance before turning his wide eyed gaze back to the road in front of them. He made a grunt that seemed to be a yes, so Jane decided to try again.

"Thor's never really mentioned you before. Are you two close?" She asked.

"Until very recently he thought I was dead; but yes, once we were very close," He said.

"What do you mean, he thought you were dead?"

"My family was fooled into thinking I had been killed, when I was really taken to Svartalfheim. That is where my uncle found me."

"What were you doing there?"

"I was being punished," Jane wanted to ask a lot more follow up question to that but as soon as she opened her mouth Fenrir spoke. "How far away is your home?"

Much as Jane wanted answers, she recognized the change of topic for what it was.

"We're almost there. Just a few more minutes," She said, turning onto the street that led to the lab. As she pulled up to the building she saw Darcy's car was already there. Jane hoped that Darcy had remembered to pick up the groceries like she'd said she would. Loki had threatened to kill her more than once and starving his son could only hurt the situation.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Jane. Darcy and Erik! How in the world was she supposed to explain her new houseguest to them? She couldn't believe that the thought hadn't occurred to her until now. She parked her car and tried to quickly think of an explanation for Fenrir that was better than "You try saying no to Thor".

Fenrir seemed to realize that something was wrong and, now that the car wasn't moving anymore, he began to get nervous.

"All right, so I live with these two people," Jane began. "I work with them. Well I really just work with Erik, Darcy is more of an intern and- . They're nice, friends of your uncle's." Jane knew that she was babbling. She hated this, she hardly ever babbled. "The thing is that your father isn't too popular here. There was actually an incident with him and Erik a few years ago. So you-"

"So I am no safer here than I was on Asgard," Fenrir said, looking dejected.

"What?! No! You're safe. No one will hurt you. It will be uncomfortable as sin but, you know what, let's just go inside and get this part over with," Jane said, hopping out. Once again she had to open the door for him.

Darcy was on them the second they came through the front door.

"Erik texted me and said that you'd gone out to the landing sight. Does this mean that Zeus is back from his vacation or… Hello," Darcy said, smiling when she got a look at Fenrir. "You're not Thor."

"Darcy, this is Fenrir. Thor asked me to look after him for a little while," Jane said, purposely leaving out a few key details. If she was lucky then maybe Thor would get back before she needed to explain everything.

"How do you manage to find all the hot aliens? I'm definitely calling dibs on this one," Darcy said, eyeing Fenrir.

"Dibs?" Fenrir said quietly. Clearly listening to Darcy was making him uneasy.

"You said Thor wanted you to look after him? You can just leave that to me. I mean, I practically paid for my entire high school social life with babysitting money. I'll make sure he's taken care of," Darcy said, taking a step toward Fenrir.

"Darcy," Jane snapped.

"What?"

"Back off a little."

"Oh, whatever," Darcy said going over to the table where bags of groceries were sitting. Jane sighed.

"Where's Erik?"

"Checking the monitors for the readings form your boyfriends landing," Darcy said, putting a box of cereal into a cabinet.

"Could you go get him?"

"I could give Fenrir a tour of the lab, if you need to go talk to Erik," Darcy said.

"Just go get Erik."

"Fine," Darcy said, leaving the room with a pout. Jane let out an exhausted sigh and noticed that, since entering the house, Fenrir had begun to look increasingly green.

"Sorry about Darcy. I know she can come on a little strong sometimes," Jane said. "She's actually nice once you get used to her." Fenrir gave a halfhearted nod but didn't raise his eyes from where they seemed to be glued to the floor.

Five minutes later Darcy was back with Erik following close behind her. Darcy went over to the table and flopped into a chair but Erik seemed glued to the doorway.

"So you're from Asgard too?" Darcy asked.

"Originally," Fenrir whispered.

"So you're like, what, Thor's apprentice?" Darcy asked. Fenrir muttered a no that was practically silent.

"Actually he's a relative of Thor's." Jane said, praying that no one would ask any follow up questions.

"Are you one of his secret love children?" Darcy joked.

"He's Loki's son," Erik stated, breaking his silence. Jane couldn't believe this.

"Seriously?" Darcy gasped.

"How did you know that?" Jane asked.

"Family resemblance; I'd know those eyes anywhere," Erik said, unable to tear his eyes off of Fenrir. "What in the world is he doing here?"

"He came with Thor."

"Speaking of tall, blond and godly; where is Thor?" Darcy asked, seeming to notice for the first time that Jane and Fenrir were alone.

"Thor's in New York. And he won't be back until tomorrow." Jane admitted. "I told him he could stay here."

"Oh, Thor," Erik groaned. "So should we be expecting a visit from Loki soon?"

"Thor didn't say anything about that," Of course, Jane thought, Thor hadn't told her much of anything before he'd flown off. Erik merely rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like a repeat of 'Oh, Thor'.

"I don't know if I'll be getting a lot of work done today," Jane continued. "So if you want to head home-"

"Oh no I think I'll stick around," Erik said.

"Me too," Darcy added.

"Didn't you say you had a date, later?" Jane asked.

"Are you kidding? This is way more interesting than making small talk with a psych major." Darcy said.

Jane couldn't help rolling her eyes. Leave it to Darcy to find something like this entertaining.

"So, Fenrir, are you hungry?" Jane asked, desperate to get everyones mind on something else.

Fenrir looked over at Erik and studied him for a minute before turning back to Jane and nodding.

"Me too. I skipped breakfast this morning." Jane said. She went over to the fridge to see what they had and noticed that Fenrir was following closely behind her. "Do you like eggs?" Jane asked. He nodded again. She grabbed the carton from the fridge and went over to the stove.

"So what are you doing here?" Darcy asked.

"Darcy," Jane said.

"I think I'd like to know too," Erik said, sitting next to Darcy at the table, and giving Fenrir the same analytical stare that he'd just gotten. Jane was about to answer the question herself when she remembered that she had no idea.

"I've come to live with my uncle," Fenrir said.

"Do the Avengers know about that?" Erik asked, with surprise.

"I think that's what Thor's doing now." Jane explained, as she began mixing eggs.

"So are you going to fight crime too now?" Darcy asked.

"I don't think so," Fenrir said, shifting his stance so he could be blocked by Jane.

"Hey, can you fly?" Darcy asked, moving her chair along with him.

"Darcy, enough questions." Jane said.

"What? His uncle can fly; I just want to know what we can look forward to."

"I, I can't fly." Fenrir muttered, wrapping his arms as tightly around himself as he could.

"So, Erik, did you get the readings on Thor's landing?" Jane asked. She was relieved when Erik began talking about physics. That was something she could handle. They continued to talk about what his machines picked up as she began frying the eggs.

"I think I might have finally found the stabilizing factor for the Bifrost's point of origin." Erik said. This stopped Jane in her tracks.

"No?" Jane said. This was what they'd been working on for the past five months. "I thought the equipment couldn't get a clear reading when the bridge was open."

"I've been making some modifications. It's too soon to be sure but I think we might have had a breakthrough." He said. This was too much to take in. She had to see these readings.

"Darcy, watch the eggs for me," Jane said, and bolted out of the kitchen into the main lab with Erik. Once she got there she was disappointed to find out that there was no breakthrough.

"Now tell me what's really going on," Erik ordered, once he'd gotten Jane alone.

"I told you, I promised Thor that he could stay here," Jane said again.

"If he's here to live with Thor then why didn't Thor take him along?"

"He said that he needed to explain things to the other Avengers before he brought Fenrir there."

"That's what I thought you'd say," Erik said, glancing warily at the hallway to the kitchen.

"You know that Thor wouldn't have left him here if he was dangerous," Jane said.

"I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about whoever it is that Thor is trying to get him away from," Erik explained.

"He's not-" Jane was interupted when they heard a smash and a scream coming from the kitchen. They both ran.

"Darcy, are you ok?" Erik asked running up to her.

"This was not my fault," She said.

"What happened?" Jane asked, when she saw Fenrir sitting on the floor in front of the smashed remains of their counter.

"I asked him to grab the frying pan while I got some plates. I didn't think he'd actually try and grab the pan," Darcy explained. Jane looked back at Fenrir. This explained why he was holding his arm to his chest like it was about to fall off.

"Go get the first aid kit," Jane ordered, while she rushed to the freezer to get ice and quickly filled a towel with ice cubes.

"What happened to the counter?" Erik asked.

"He threw the frying pan at it," Darcy explained, rummaging through the cabinets trying to find where she'd left the kit. Jane brought the ice over to Fenrir and sat down in front of him.

"Show me your hand," She said reaching forward. Fenrir slammed into the wall behind him like he was about to be burned again. "I need to see your hand." She said. Reluctantly he held out his arm. She was relieved to see that the burn wasn't too bad. Darcy finally came over with the first aid kit and Jane put some cream on the worst of it. "Hold on to this." Jane said, offering up the towel of ice. The response was immediate; with Fenrir sighing like all the pain in the world was gone.

"Thank you," He said. Jane suddenly realized that this was the first time that Fenrir had made eye contact with her.

"You're welcome," She replied.

"So I'm thinking cereal would be a good alternative since I think he broke the stove too," Darcy said. Fenrir turned around and realized the damage that he'd caused. Suddenly his eyes got huge.

"I'm sorry," He said, snapping around to look back at Jane.

"Don't worry about it," Jane said. "So…cereal?"

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Thankfully the rest of the afternoon was uneventful. They'd cleaned up the kitchen and she'd given Fenrir a tour of the lab. He'd then sat there like a statue while she'd checked the results that the equipment had actually given when Thor had landed. It was awkward but, after the morning she'd had, it was definitely an improvement.

Jane was relieved to see that Fenrir was grateful for the change too. He had in fact taken a book out of his coat and seemed content to sit and read while she worked. He'd even relaxed to the point that he only seemed to tense up when her or Erik got up, as opposed to every time that someone moved. Meanwhile Darcy had left to do whatever it was she did when Jane and Erik were working.

"You all are going to love me" Darcy said when she returned. "While you guys were trying to figure out the weight of gravity, or whatever it is you do, I solved our dinner problem."

"What problem?" Jane asked.

"The one where we no longer have a kitchen," Darcy said. "Plus I figured we should do something nice for Fenrir's first night on Earth. Make up for the whole, me making him touch hot metal…thing." She finished, looking briefly guilty.

"So you got pizza?" Jane asked.

"Please. The pizza in this town sucks. I got steaks. I figured we could grill," She said, before turning to Fenrir. "By the way the first rule of grilling safety is that if it's on fire, don't touch it." Jane thanked her and began finishing up for the day.

Luckily there was an old picnic table outside that they could use since no one wanted to repeat the experience of eating in the remains of plywood and plaster. While Erik grilled up, and Darcy contributed a running commentary on how they should be cooked, Jane decided to show Fenrir her trailer.

"I thought the other building was your home," Fenrir said, once they were inside.

"The lab is more of a group space. It's mostly for work but this is where I live," Jane explained. "I sleep on the roof most nights so I figured, if Thor isn't back in time, you can take the bed."

"That's not necessary."

"It's not a problem. I'm sorry it's not bigger." She said, looking around at the small quarters.

"This is fine." He said. "You've been more than generous."

"This must seem pretty different compared to what you're used to on Asgard," Before Fenrir could reply there was a smacking sound on the door.

"Dinner's ready," Darcy called. By the time they got to the table Darcy and Erik had already started. They were seated at either end of the table; Jane took the seat by Erik which left Fenrir with Darcy.

Sadly, despite better food, the dinner conversation was as awkward as ever. There was twenty minutes of forced small talk directed mainly by Darcy. The only difference between this and lunch was that Fenrir seemed especially fidgety. It seemed to Jane like every minute or so Fenrir was pulling to the side or jumping a little. Jane looked over to Erik and saw she wasn't the only one to notice the behavior.

"So is this the kind of thing you eat on Asgard?" Darcy asked.

"The meat is similar, but I don't think we have this animal," Fenrir said. "My uncle must love it though."

"What makes you think that?" Jane asked.

"It's meat," Fenrir stated, matter of factly.

"Oh, my god, Fenrir, did you just make a joke?" Darcy asked. Fenrir kept his eyes on his plate but wasn't able to quite suppress a slight smirk. "I'm so proud of you." Darcy said, giving him a quick one armed hug. Immediately the smile was gone and Fenrir looked like he was going to be sick long after she took her hand away.

"Actually, Thor will eat pretty much anything we give him," Jane said. "I think the only thing he hasn't liked so far was tofu."

"Which makes sense because it isn't really a food; it's mush pretending to be food," Darcy added. The meal then turned to Thor stories, which seemed to be a safer topic for everyone. A few of the tales even brought brief smiles to Fenrir's face. Things finally seemed to be going smoothly.

"I had to explain to him that just because it was ok in Asgard, didn't mean that it was a good idea to walk around town without a shirt," Jane said.

"Is that not allowed here?" Fenrir asked.

"No, in fact when you look like Thor it's encouraged," Darcy said. "Jane just got jealous because of all the girls drooling over her boyfriend,"

"I wasn't jealous. I just thought it was a poor use of our time to stop every five minutes so high school girls could pretend to trip into him," Jane said.

"Not just the girls," Erik muttered.

"It took us almost two hours to pick up a carton of milk!" Jane complained.

"Jealous," Darcy whispered to Fenrir in a singsong voice.

Jane continued to deny that she was, or ever had been, jealous but her case wasn't helped by the fact that her face kept getting redder. Erik and Darcy laughed and even Fenrir couldn't resist a small chuckle. Then Erik reached across the table to grab some steak sauce and Fenrir shot out of his seat and nearly flipped the table over.

"I didn't, I'm sorry," Fenrir said quickly once they'd managed to get the table settled. Then, after looking at the table and the mess of plates and food on the ground, he turned and ran. Jane and Erik both jumped up to go after him, but stopped when they saw Fenrir turn and dive into Jane's trailer.

"What are the odds he just really had to use the bathroom?" Darcy said, as they all stared at the trailer. Jane just groaned at her and headed for the trailer.

"Jane, maybe you should wait a while before going in there," Erik said. Jane ignored him and kept walking.

She found Fenrir sitting on the floor, with his back against the wall, and his knees pulled up against his chest. He was shaking his head and, for a minute, Jane wasn't even sure if he knew that she'd come in.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked.

"I'm sorry," Fenrir said. "I didn't mean to upset your meal."

"What happened?" Jane asked.

"I made a mess. I'm sorry."

"No, Fenrir, I meant why are you upset? You seemed alright and then all of a sudden you just ran."

"I thought that your friend was…that he was going, I thought he was going to hurt me." Fenrir said, looking ashamed. "When I saw him reach across the table I…reacted."

"He was just getting sauce." Jane said, trying to sound reassuring.

"I know that." Fenrir admitted, placing his head on his knees. "I'm a coward. Thor should have warned you about that before he left me here."

"Are you going to be ok? Do you want some water?" Fenrir turned to look at Jane. "I'm sorry; I never really know what to do when people are upset."

"I'll be fine." Fenrir said. "Could I…" Fenrir stopped himself mid request. Jane simply waited for him to finish. "Would it be alright if I stayed in here for a while?"

"Sure." Jane saw him relax a little and decided to keep trying. "Would you like to be alone for a while?" Fenrir seemed unsure of how he should answer for a moment before nodding. "I'll give you some privacy then." She said, heading for the door.

"You're nice." Fenrir said. Jane turned to see him looking at her. "I can see why my uncle cares for you." He said before lowering his eyes back to the floor.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Luckily the night was uneventful. By the next morning Jane was beginning to wish that Thor had been more specific with his return time. Every ten minutes or so she found herself searching the sky for a flash of a red cape. The sky seemed to be mocking her by being a beautifully clear and cloudless blue. Aside from a meal drop at breakfast she'd been trying to leave Fenrir alone. He seemed to be less nervous by himself in the trailer so Jane decided to let him have his solitude. Although she had thought it was strange when she'd come inside in the morning and found out that he'd slept beside her bed instead of on it.

She needed to talk to Thor. Not only about dropping off guests and leaving, or his failure to stick to a schedule, although those items would certainly be brought up in their own time. What she really needed to talk to Thor about was Fenrir. Thor had said that Fenris had been through a lot, and the fact that Thor thought he needed a sanctuary on Earth clearly meant things hadn't been good, but she needed to know what. Fenrir seemed to think that everyone he met was about to hurt him and he was so grateful for any show of kindness given to him that Jane was starting to think he hadn't seen that kind of treatment in a long time. The more Jane saw of Fenrir, the more she needed to know what had happened to him.

Lunch came and went and there was still no sign of Thor. Even Darcy had started scanning the sky with binoculars in hopes of spotting him.

"Have you tried calling him?" Darcy asked, coming in from her most recent Thor watch.

"A dozen times," Jane admitted. "It's not even ringing, and all I'm getting at the Tower is Jarvis. He says Thor got there, but that's all he'll say."

"You said he was going to be back in a day. Even if he's counting all twenty-four hours he's missed his deadline by, like, a lot," Darcy said.

"We've noticed," Erik said.

"Well what's the plan here? We can't just leave him in your trailer forever," Darcy said.

"Don't you have a test to study for?" Erik snapped. For once Darcy took the hint and left the room.

"I'm going to try calling the Tower again," Jane said, standing up. It would be another four hours until Darcy spotted Thor out the window.

**Authors Note: So my usual beta is studying for a major test this week. Any review that you can give would be helpful. Plus I really do love reviews.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"I honestly have no idea," Darcy said. "Psycho boy locked himself in Jane's trailer yesterday and hasn't come out since." Darcy's words had an immediate effect on Thor, and he quickly made a beeline for the trailer.

"So what happened to the kitchen?" Tony asked, taking off his helmet as Thor ran past.

Thor burst into the trailer, and Fenrir sat up from his position on the floor. Once he saw that it was Thor he shot up and ran over.

"Thor!" Fenrir said, as he wrapped his arms around his uncle. "You're back."

"I'm sorry for the delay," Thor said, hugging him back. "My talk with the Avengers took longer than I foresaw."

"I thought you'd left me here," Fenrir admitted, letting go and stepping backward.

"Have you been alright? Darcy said something about the kitchen," Thor asked. Fenrir looked down ashamed.

"There was an accident. I'm afraid I damaged your friend's home," Fenrir confessed.

"Was anyone hurt?" Thor asked.

"No. I mean…" Fenrir hesitated before showing his uncle his burned hand. Thor immediately jerked him forward so that he could get a better look. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Jane gave me ice." Fenrir insisted, and Thor smiled at the mention of Jane.

"I don't imagine she's very happy with me right now," Thor said. "I should go and apologize to her for my lateness. Then, if you're ready, we can go." Fenrir was more than ready and he quickly followed Thor out and to the lab. Jane and Erik had joined Darcy and Tony on the lawn.

"I'll have someone come out tomorrow and remodel the whole thing for you," Tony said to Jane. "Seriously, granite, tile, whatever you want."

"Thor," Jane said, walking over to him.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long," Thor said.

"Why didn't you call?" Jane demanded.

"I seem to have left my phone on Asgard," Thor admitted, avoiding eye contact.

"We have a lot to talk about," Jane said.

"That will have to wait until next time. Sorry, lovebirds, but I need to get these two back to the tower." Tony said.

"Fenris, this is my teammate, Tony Stark." Thor said. Tony turned and gave Fenrir a quick once over.

"I thought you'd have a mustache. Not sure why." Tony said. Before Fenrir had a chance to figure out what a comment like that could possibly mean, Thor had grabbed him around the waist and taken off.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Once again the flight was over in less than a half hour and when they landed, Tony wondered if it would be worthwhile to try and transfer the new fuel tech to his private jet. This daydream was interrupted when he heard someone retching behind him. He turned around to see the very unattractive sight of an alien puking on his roof.

"So, not a fan of heights?" Tony asked. Thor gave Tony a look before kneeling down to check on Fenrir.

"Are you all right?" Thor asked. Fenrir began to answer before throwing up again. Once he'd emptied his stomach he stood up.

"Stark, what's going on up there?" Steve asked through Tony's intercom.

"I'm telling him government secrets. We'll be down in a minute." Tony said. He waited for his armor to finish disassembling around him before turning to Thor. "You two ready to go inside?" Fenrir nodded to his uncle and they went in. Tony sent the elevator to the 25th floor and waited, and waited…and… Tony quickly began to hate who ever had invented uncomfortable elevator music and decided that his next project would be to create an instant elevator so he'd never have to go through this again.

When they finally got to Bruce's 'happy floor', Tony had to quick make a decision of where to stash their new houseguest/hostage. There were three rooms set up for Bruce to go when he was in danger of hulking out, and each of them had been designed with the same security to contain the Hulk. The interiors were definitely not the same.

Room A was filled with furniture, mostly wooden, for when Hulk needed to smash his frustrations away. Room A was where Bruce tended to go when he knew a Hulking was imminent and needed to release some rage. Room B was a completely empty cell that pumped calming music and aromatherapy. This was where Bruce went when he was feeling on edge but thought that there might still be a chance of gaining control and going back about his work.

And of course there was the evil room. Or at least that was how Tony had always thought of it. The third room, Room C, was filled with bright pastel colors and giant stuffed animals, with the thought that 'maybe the Hulk just needs to get in touch with his inner child'. Tony couldn't stand the room and had yet to go inside without cringing. So far, Bruce had never felt the need to test it out when he was on edge.

Still, Room C did seem the least cell like, so that was the one Tony led Fenrir to. The sight when he opened the door was the same as it always was and, like always, it made Tony shudder. Too much cute.

"We need to talk to your uncle for a while, so you can wait here," Tony said, motioning toward the door. Fenrir walked inside and looked warily at his surroundings. "Just make yourself comfortable and we'll be back before you know it." Thor asked Fenrir if there was anything he needed before he left. Fenrir said no and Thor headed out the door. Tony was following him out when he heard Fenrir say, under his breath.

"I'm always waiting."

Tony thought about saying something to Thor but decided against it. Dealing with family drama wasn't exactly his specialty. He was more an expert on what drinks to prescribe to someone who wanted to wipe out all memory of parents. When they got to the meeting room on the 18th floor he saw that everyone else had suited up.

"Did I miss something?" He asked, taking his seat.

"We just wanted to be prepared," Steve explained.

"Did you have any problems retrieving your target?" Fury asked. Thor seemed unhappy with the description, but didn't say anything.

"Aside from the fact that I'm going to have to have my roof power washed, no," Tony said. "So where did we leave off? I think Thor was about to quit the team, Fury was instituting a no houseguest rule and Cap wanted to stab me in the eye with his pen."

"I never said that," Steve said.

"I'm going by body language," Tony explained. "So did everyone work out their problems while we were gone?" Everyone looked at Thor. "I guess that's a no."

"I contacted a few higher ups while you both were away," Fury said. "They'd be willing to let your nephew stay on Earth in S.H.I.E.L.D custody. If he's contained then-"

"No," Thor interrupted. "If I wanted him in a cell then I could have left him on Asgard."

"You have to meet us halfway on this," Natasha said.

"Or we could just give him a room and save ourselves the time," Tony said. Everyone in the room stared at Tony in disbelief, except for Thor who didn't bother to hide his grin. "We can spend the next few hours arguing about this but it's all going to come down to the same thing. Thor says he's leaving if we don't let him stay, and we can't have the team without him. Even with me on the team, we can't lose that much fire power. Not with Doom, Thanos and, let's be honest, **Loki** trying to destroy us every other week."

"You really want this guy living in the tower with us?" Clint asked. "You did hear the part of the story where he killed nine kids, right?"

"Jarvis, pull up a visual of Panic Room C," Tony said. Immediately a screen materialized in the center of the room and showed Fenrir. He was standing next to a giant, pink stuffed bear and seemed to be trying to figure out what possible purpose something like that could serve. "Terrifying as he seems I think I'll be able to sleep at night."

"This is probably one of the most secure places to have him," Bruce reasoned. "Jarvis has constant surveillance on everyone and if he even begins to act suspicious then we're all here to stop him."

"You're on his side?" Clint said.

"I just think it makes the most sense," Bruce said.

"No, handing him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. makes sense. This is insanity," Clint said.

"Well it's my house and it's my rules. I say we let him stay," Tony said. "Anyone who doesn't like it can start paying rent."

"Stark," Fury began.

"My house," Tony repeated.

"Thank you," Thor said earnestly.

"No, no, no, we haven't agreed to anything yet," Clint insisted.

"God help us, I think we have," Steve groaned.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"That's your uncle's room on the left and over here is your room," Tony said, leading Thor and Fenrir down the hallway. "So far Thor's used it when he has visitors from Asgard, so don't be surprised if you find some leftover chainmail in the closet." Tony said letting himself into the bedroom. "We have reinforced furniture, full length mirrors, and an in suite bathroom with an old fashioned tub that all you Asgardians seem to like so much. All the comforts of Medieval fairy land, without having to leave the planet." Tony waited for a response while Fenrir eyed the room. He quickly saw that he wasn't going to get one. "Thank you, Tony, for giving me this incredibly comfortable room, and for opening up your home to me." Tony prompted.

"Thank you," Fenrir said quickly.

"Yes, thank you," Thor added. "You have shown yourself to be a most faithful friend."

"I'm pretty incredible that way," Tony agreed. "Well, I'll let you two have some family time and go see what threats Fury has in store for me. Personally I'm hoping for bamboo shoots but no one ever appreciates the classics anymore." Tony offered one last salute before he left the room. Fenrir stared at the door for a while after he left.

"Your friend is, I don't think I've ever met anyone like him," Fenris said, still staring at the door where Tony had just left.

"The people of Midgard live very differently from us. However even they seem to find Stark to be rather unique," Thor explained.

"Oh," Fenrir said, looking around the room.

"My companion, Volstagg, once stayed in this room. I don't believe he had any complaints. And you'll be very close to my room if you need anything," Thor said. "Later I can show you the rest of the Tower. I think there might even be a library on the 33rd floor." Fenrir saw how hard his uncle was trying and forced a smile.

"I'm sure I'll be very comfortable here," Fenrir said. This was more than enough for Thor.

"Of course you will be," Thor said, throwing an arm around Fenrir's shoulders. "I'm sorry that I had to leave you alone for so long, but that is all done now. You're home." Fenrir wished that he could join in his uncle's enthusiasm; he really did, but he couldn't help but think that the last time Thor had promised him a home he'd ended up in a dungeon on Asgard.

"I look forward to introducing you to the rest of the Avengers." Thor said. "Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?"

Fenrir's mind flashed back to the last dinner he'd attended, making a fool of himself in front of his uncle's friends. Flinching at every touch from Darcy and ruining a meal simply because someone bigger than he was had reached in his direction.

"I think I'd rather stay in here, if that's all right," Fenrir admitted.

"I'll bring you something then," Thor said.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"You don't think Thor's going to try and bring him to dinner, do you?" Bruce asked, as he unpacked a bag of Chinese takeout.

"It's Thor. He's probably going to want us to throw a feast to celebrate his first night here," Natasha said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"You seem surprisingly comfortable with the idea," Steve said.

"I'm carrying eleven knives and a stun gun," She said, and quickly demonstrated the fact by spearing an egg roll with a combat knife.

"Is that any different to what you usually have at dinner?" Tony asked, digging through a bag.

"I usually leave the gun in my room," She said.

"If I were you I'd have brought more," Clint said, laying his bow on the table.

"Come on guys, what did we agree? No weapons during dinner," Steve said.

"As long as Loki's spawn is in the tower, I don't go anywhere unarmed," Clint said.

"I look forward to seeing how you manage a shower without losing the quiver," Tony said, rifling through another bag. "But you guys don't need to worry about Cujo coming to dinner. He turned Thor down on that one. And did I or did I not order spicy pork?"

"When did you talk to Thor?" Bruce asked.

"I haven't. I've been having Jarvis give updates on everything that happens in there. That and a video check every half hour," Tony said, continuing his search.

"You're spying on them?" Steve asked.

"I actually find that reassuring," Natasha said, and she reached to pull a bag from under the table and offered it to Tony.

"You hid the spicy pork?" Tony asked. "That's one of the most evil things you can do to a person." Natasha just shrugged and continued with her meal.

"I can't believe you're having Jarvis spy on him," Steve said. "You're the one who invited him to live here."

"That doesn't mean I trust him," Tony said. "Thor wanted him here, so I made it happen. Although to be fair, from what I've seen so far, I doubt he'll give us any problems."

"None of this matters. Fury is never going to just let him stay here. It's only a matter of time till he shows up with an extraction team," Natasha said.

"Well I'll be counting the moments." Clint said. Thor came into the room soon after and conversation briefly stopped. Thor announced that he would be taking dinner with his nephew, grabbed a few cartons and left.

"He seems happy," Steve said.

"It's Thor. You give him extra Pop Tarts in the morning and he's happy," Clint said. "He's like a kid."

"Speaking of kid, something's been bugging me," Tony said, through a mouthful of pork. "Bruce, you did the math on Thor's age last year, right?"

"Yeah," Bruce said.

"You said that Thor was about 35?" Tony asked.

"Give or take," Bruce said. "The math wasn't exactly easy."

"But let's say that Thor is 35," Tony said. "And Loki is just a little bit younger."

"What's your point?" Steve asked.

"I'm just trying to figure out how it is that we have a 22 year old on the next floor," Tony said. It didn't take long for everyone else in the room to do the math.

"You're saying that Loki was a teen parent?" Clint asked, barely fighting the urge to laugh.

"He can't be that old," Steve said. "We saw him in the panic room and he looks like he's still in his teens."

"Let's be nice and say the kid's eighteen," Tony offered. "That would still result in a Sixteen and Pregnant situation."

"You'd think that that would have come up somewhere in Thor's stories," Steve said.

"You'd think Fenrir would have shown up somewhere," Natasha interupted. "Thor tells stories about everything. Are we really supposed to believe that his brother had a son and Thor never mentioned him once?"

"He said it was a sore memory," Bruce offered.

"His brother has tried to kill him half a dozen times and he still manages to tell stories about their adventures together," Natasha reasoned.

"So you think he might be a fake?" Clint asked.

"I think it's a possibility that we should consider,"

"Nope," Tony said. "Look, we all know that Thor can be a little naïve sometimes. But even he's not just going to believe some random guy who shows up and says, "hey, I'm family"."

"We've dealt with memory spells before," Natasha said. "Enough magic can make a person believe anything. Remember anything."

"But to create a person," Steve said. "An entire life? It's too much."

"Look at what we see every day," Natasha said. "When Amora attacked last year Tony spent a week thinking he was a six year old girl."

"We agreed never to speak of that again!" Tony yelled, horrified at the memories.

"All I'm saying is that it's not outside the realm of possibility," Natasha continued, ignoring Tony.

"Why would someone go to all that trouble?" Steve asked.

"It got him in here, didn't it?" Clint pointed out.

"Besides, it's no secret how Thor feels about Loki," Natasha said. "What better way to get control over Thor than by giving him a link to his brother."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

It was two days before Fury showed up again. As soon as he was through the door he called all of the Avengers to the 18th floor.

"How's the new addition?" Fury asked, once they were all seated.

"He hasn't left his room since he went in. Unless Thor's in there with him he basically just sits," Tony said. He noticed the look Thor was giving and quickly added. "Or so I'd guess."

"I guess we can be thankful for small favors," Fury said. "My superiors weren't exactly pleased when I told them about how our last meeting ended. Their first response was to send a strike team to eliminate him." Thor glared at Fury but he kept talking. "Eventually they decided to go in another direction. You asked us to offer your nephew sanctuary. It's been decided that he'll have to pay for that privilege." Thor stood up from his seat at the table. He saw the direction that this was heading and he didn't like it at all.

"Despite our increasing exposure to life on other planets, our knowledge of other life forms is frighteningly limited. A team is being put together of the best doctors and scientists this country has, and they going to come here and figure out how an Asgardian works," Fury said.

"I won't let you treat Fenrir like some animal." Thor growled at Fury.

"Thor, the tests they want to do aren't that different from the ones that you offered to do when you first joined the team," Natasha reasoned.

"You knew about this?" Thor demanded.

"Fury told the both of us before the meeting," Clint said. "Personally I would have supported a full dissection, but they wanted to keep you happy."

"No," Thor stated.

"This is no longer up for discussion. Either he helps S.H.I.E.L.D learn about other life or he's out," Fury said. "And Stark doesn't have a say." Fury added when Tony started to speak.

"The tests are harmless," Natasha said.

"Then why haven't you done them on me?" Thor asked.

"Because every time we've tried to hook you up to machines, your electricity has short circuited them before we could get a reading. And there's only so much we can get from a physical," Natasha explained.

"I'm not a fan of making people into lab rats, but that kind of knowledge would be invaluable," Bruce admitted. "What if we allowed Thor to sit in on the exams? That way he'd know that we aren't doing anything that _crosses a line_." Bruce suggested, as much to Thor as Fury. He hoped that Fury was being honest about the tests being harmless, and the potential knowledge they could gain was unimaginable, but he knew how quickly some scientists could forget that their subjects were people.

"I'm sure we could arrange that." Fury conceded.

"It doesn't matter. I won't allow it," Thor insisted.

"If you can't agree then neither of you are welcome here. No matter how much we might need you on the team," Fury countered. "Even this offer is more lenient then we'd normally allow."

"Then I guess I must leave," Thor said, standing up.

"Where are you going to go?" Bruce asked.

"To Jane, if she will still have us. Then I will think of something more permanent," Thor said.

"You'll have to think of something fast. Fenrir won't be welcome anywhere S.H.I.E.L.D has jurisdiction. So you'll have to take him out of America," Fury said. This news made Thor hesitate for a moment, but he soon regained his resolve.

"Then I suppose it won't do me any good to linger," Thor said, leaving the room.

The next hour consisted of the team arguing with Fury about the ruling. The arguments included the need to have Thor on the team, the unfairness of making him choose between them and his family, and of the possibility that Thor might go to Loki if the Avengers cast him out.

Fury insisted that the offer he'd given Thor had been the best he'd been able to create. He explained that, while he wanted Thor on the team, he couldn't just let the son of the man who tried to conquer Earth just come to stay without some kind of exchange. The group seemed to be running out of things to say when Thor reentered.

"I have explained the situation to Fenrir. Despite what I would have chosen, he has decided to take your deal. Assuming that I can be present, he will allow for the tests," Thor said.

**Author's Note: Wow it took a long time to get Fenrir into that Tower. Originally when I planned this story Thor was going to find Fenrir and have him back on Earth by chapter three. Then plot happened. Oh well, now that I'm all caught up I can focus on Fenrir's rehabilitation and the slow build of a romance between him and( _we apologize for our technical difficulties_). So that should be something fun. Thanks so much for those of you who have reviewed. Love reviews!**


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